Introduction to Your Destruction
by Beccatdemon13
Summary: It's a simple truth, really, you can never escape your family. Full synopsis inside. R
1. Heat of the Moment

**Introduction to Your Destruction**

By: Beccatdemon13

©2011

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Isabelle Felicity Teller, Annemarie Lenora Winston, and Marco 'Cougar' Vellenueva as well as anyone you don't immediately recognize. Please don't sue. You'd only be getting a hell of a lot of textbooks. What? Don't look at me like that College isn't a paying gig you know. But god I wish it was. Beccatdemon13 now will go off to fantasize about the lack of tuition payments that being paid would bring. Oh, right, the story! On we go…

**Synopsis: **Charming was a nowhere town, the streets are paved with intentions...dark, violent intentions. Thanks to the Sons of Anarchy, a club that I'm genetically linked to. It's a simple truth; really, you can never escape your family.

**Chapter One: Heat of the Moment**

"_Most of us were not violent by nature. We all had our problems with authority but none of us were sociopaths. We came to realize when you live outside the social grid; you give up the safety that society provides. On the fringe, blood and bullets are the rule of law and if you're a man with convictions, violence is inevitable."_ The Life and Death of Sam Crow: How The Sons Of Anarchy Lost Their Way by John Thomas Teller

**Present Day (Circa 2008) Outsider Point of View**

It was warm and sunny basically an average day in the small town of Charming, California. Main Street was alive and thriving, with all of the homegrown Mom-and-Pop shops seeing their normal clientele. The doors to those aforementioned businesses were propped open to allow the occasional breeze inside, as well as call greeting to the people just walking in the street.

Two girls were walking down the street arm-in-arm, grinning and carefree looking. One girl was statuesque with creamy skin and deep chocolate brown hair; oversized sunglasses hid her clear emerald eyes, perched on a ski-sloped nose. She wore dark-washed straight-legged jeans and a simple black tank top. Her knee high boots click-clacked on the pavement as she walked by. The girl's name was Anna Winston and she was twenty-four years old.

Wherever Anna Winston was Isabelle Teller was sure to follow. Isabelle, Izzy for short was smaller in height, barely clearing the five-foot mark, she too was twenty-four years old. Her golden blonde hair was up in a messy bun, a few stubborn pieces had escaped framing her heart shaped face. Like her friend, she too wore knee high leather boots. She also wore light blue jeans, which hugged and enhanced her curves. The girl also wore a scoop neck black top that highlighted her porcelain skin tone.

As Anna and Izzy walked down the street, their laughter loud echoed in the peaceful afternoon. At least that was the only thing people could hear until the deafening, distinctive roar of a pack of motorcycles came down the street.

"Hey girls!" The bikers called.

The girls smiled and waved, flipping off one of the bikers who catcalled.

Those bikers were the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original, otherwise known as SAMCO, or its personified title: Sam Crow, the founding charter. At first they were just a motorcycle club, going on the occasional ride all together. It had quickly expanded to twenty-eight other charters in the United States alone. There were also charters in England, Canada, Germany, and Ireland. John Teller and Piermont 'Piney' Winston were the founding members. They along with nine other 'original' members made up the first Charter.

The Sons had gotten their start when John Teller, and the rest of his unit had come back from the Vietnam War. When John had come home, he and his two closest friends felt shunned by the very people they had tried to protect. The war was far from popular and the general public felt no shame about taking out their frustrations on the returning soldiers and their families. John was out-of-sorts and had a hard time readjusting to the norms of society, so he looked for other possibilities, which he found within the MC world.

As the club grew ground and support the club morphed from a friendly place for friends to a family of outlaw motorcyclists otherwise known as OMC. The Sons of Anarchy weren't your average outlaws, though. They had morals: they refused to sell any drugs and they treated women with respect (mostly). The Sons of Anarchy vest or a cut consisted of a grim reaper wielding a M-16 with a bloody scythe blade and holding a crystal ball with the anarchy 'A'. Directly under that patch the chapter patch saying where the particular club was based. On the front of the vest there were other patches members wore. On the left side there was a patch that said Redwood Original. Then there were others like 'the first nine' for the nine original members, the ranking patches (president, vice president, and the like), and the final one was 'men of mayhem' worn by those who had spilled blood for the club. Nearly all of the Nomads had one. They a charter that had no fixed location, they were some of the toughest people Sam Crow had in their corner, ready to go where ever they were needed, whenever.

The Sons didn't start out in one specific place that was how Redwood Original part of SAMCRO happened. It was actually because of John's wife, Gemma that the Sons settled down. When Gemma had gotten pregnant, she wanted to settle down, Charming was her hometown. It was something familiar so it made sense that it was where the Sons would plant their roots. The Sons of Anarchy ruled over the small town, an easy thing to do with the police in their pocket. They kept out big business: the closest Wal-Mart and Starbucks were twenty minutes away. There was no fast food, no supermarket chains, or anything like that. Any and all stores in Charming were Mom and Pop stores. The owners of said stores appreciated the SOA's effort to keep out the big businesses. They knew without the Sons keeping the companies at bay, they'd be out of a job. It was seen in other towns, a Wal-Mart's built and suddenly all the little businesses shut down like wildfire. Nothing happened here that the Sons didn't know about or didn't control.

Neither Anna nor Izzy had an easy life. Both had experienced loss early in life. Anna's mother had abandoned her and her older brother and father. While Izzy had lost her twin brother. Thomas Wayne Teller was born ten minutes before her on January 8, 1984. Izzy owed Tommy a lot; he had saved her from the family flaw. It was passed down from Mom to Tommy. Maybe it was because Tommy and Izzy shared her womb that he had saved her from a more severe case of CHD, or Congenital heart defect. Because of that, when they were born, Tommy was really sick. He was constantly in and out of the hospital until his death in 1990. They were only six.

Izzy wasn't the only offspring of John and Gemma. Jackson Teller or Jax, as he preferred to be called, was born on March 21, 1978. He had dark blonde hair that hung around his neck. Jax was about six foot one, towering over Izzy's much smaller frame. Jax's best friend happened to be Anna's older brother, Opie. Harry 'Opie' Winston was six foot four, with dark brown hair and green eyes.

**Izzy's Point of View**

After Tommy had died, things had changed. Both Mom and Dad were really depressed, we all were. I had lost part of myself and it was just so difficult. I don't remember much but I do remember how much Dad had changed. Suddenly he was withdrawn and cautious. The father that use to come booming into the house, with a laugh that could shake the foundations was gone, leaving this shell of a man. A man who could barely take care of himself let alone the rest of the family and the club.

Within my ten years of life I had already lost so much. Almost all of the original nine were dead, those men and their families were my family. We got together on holidays, we looked out for one another, and when they were gone it was just weird. I had lost my twin brother, a loss that I never really got over. And, then, in 1993, my father was hit by a semi and dragged one hundred feet. The problem was my father hadn't died on impact or when the truck dragged him. Nope, he died three days later from his injuries in the hospital.

When Dad had died, everything really had changed. The national president of the Sons of Anarchy was dead; charters from around the world came to pay their respects. I had never seen Charming so packed with bikers in my life. The clubhouse was full of the other charters and everyone was lending out their homes for the members who weren't apart of Redwood. The other charters were around when Clay Morrow, the youngest of the original nine, was voted in to be president.

Clay Morrow was my father's best friend and my godfather; he wasn't just the person who replaced my father in the club. As of 1994, he became my stepfather. When Dad died, Clay had stepped up in a big way, watching out for my mom, brother, and I. It was never weird to see him around the house before Dad's death but after he was there nearly every day.

The way the club made money was by selling ammunitions, under the radar, which was where the majority of their money came from. It wasn't the only revenue stream, however, they had one of two legal businesses. The first was an automotive shop affectionately called TM stood for Teller-Morrow Automotive. TM gave a job (and alibi) to every patched member of the Charming Chapter. The second legal business was a diner. The Crow was a simple diner, one of only five restaurants within Charming's borders. But it was one of the more successful ones thanks to Anna and I.

Anna and I were walking around on our break, knowing that if anything went wrong, we'd be close enough to handle it. Almost like clockwork the glass door to the diner flew open and one of the waitresses stormed outside. Janice Donovan was one of our best waitresses, she was a recent hire but she caught on quick. Her fake blonde hair caught the sunlight reflecting off the pink streaks she had added recently. Janice's cute face was pinched in annoyance as she scanned the street, when she caught sight of Anna and I she shouted, "I can't take it anymore!"

"Can you be anymore dramatic, Janice?" Anna huffed in irritation.

"That bitch is stupid," Janice responded. "Why'd you even give her a job here?"

"Get back inside," I ordered sharply.

Janice grumbled something under her breath before she walked back into the diner with us on her heels.

"Now what happened?" Anna asked eyeing Janice and our new girl, Amanda suspiciously.

"Punky McGoth is being a bitch," Amanda murmured.

"Oh, wow, look at that, a complete sentence," Janice mocked. "You must be so proud."

"I swear to god, I'll knock your fucking teeth in," Amanda threatened.

"You mean that you'll cheer me to death?" Janice smirked. "Be aggressive. B-E Aggressive!"

Amanda didn't say anything instead she shoved Janice backwards, a fierce glare adorning her normally sweet face. I coughed to mask my snort of amusement because that seemed exactly what Anna or I would say to the cheerleaders when we were in high school. I always liked Janice, she was smart and wasn't afraid of the Sam Crow crowd. Amanda, on the other hand, was a complete surprise when the brunette co-captain of the Charming cheerleaders walked in asking for a job.

"Hey," Anna snapped. "You two shut the fuck up. Get back to work."

The girls looked at Anna wide-eyed and I smirked. Out of the two of us, Anna was the scarier one, at least to the girls. Anna was never one to suffer fools and she sure as hell didn't put up with petty high school bullshit. Which was probably why Amanda and Janice were fighting, separate cliques created friction. However, we had warned both of them that if either of that friction bled into the diner one of two would be tossed out on her ass. Although, it would most likely be Amanda who would get tossed out, she was the newer of the two, after all.

The Diner always had certain times of the day. One of the busiest times was just around lunchtime. It was normally completely packed and just a little insane. At the most there were always four waitresses on the floor. Trying to keep things running smoothly at all times.

"Tori, get the lead out!" Anna groaned.

"Give me five seconds, Annie," Tori groused. "Kat, I need that salad."

Victoria 'Tori' Moran was another kid of the original nine. Tori was born a year after Opie and Jax. She had red hair and dark blue eyes. Tori was Otto Moran's only kid. Her dad was more likely to be recognized by his nickname of 'Lil Killer.' Katherine "Kat" Maynard was Louis' daughter and another daughter of the original nine. She had graduated the year before I did. She had light brown hair and fluorescent green eyes. She was tall, standing at five foot eight.

"Order up!" Tori called.

Janice swooped in carrying two bowls of pasta and a side order of salad to one of the booths in the back. As if we weren't busy enough, the back phone began to ring. With a sigh, I ran to the office, kicking the door shut behind me as I picked up the phone.

"The Crow diner, Izzy speaking, how may I help you?"

"Baby,"

"Hi, Ma," I smiled softly. "What's up? We're in the middle of lunch rush."

"You think you can put in the boys orders?" Ma asked.

"Of course," I replied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, Iz, have you heard from Wendy?"

"That bitch hates me," I responded, laughing. "So, that would be a no. Why? What'd that cumrag do now?"

"She hasn't been answering her phones."

"Who gives a shit?" I growled.

"She's pregnant with your nephew," Ma snapped.

"Yeah," I frowned before changing the topic. "I'll bring the food by as soon as I can."

"Thanks, baby," Ma responded.

We both hung up and I pulled open the door to the office, walking back behind the counter.

"Girls, Sam Crow placed their usual order," I shouted. "Need it on the double. And someone ordered the salad of the day again."

"You got it, Izzy," Kat responded.

"Order up!" Tori called, shoving Kat out of the way, filling the window with plates.

Janice and Amanda came by grabbing the aforementioned dishes and placing them in front of the customers. The diner continued in that vein until finally people began to leave, without more people taking their place. For such a small town, it sometimes didn't feel that way. When it was calm enough for someone to be able to get away, I grabbed the bags filled with Styrofoam take-out containers. Everyone's names were scrawled on the top of each lid.

Ever since the diner had open, TM had placed an order almost religiously. They always ordered the same thing so we knew who got what. It made for a very easy system. It was a quick drive from the diner over to the shop and I eventually slid my car into the spot besides my mother's Cadillac.

"Food's here, boys!" I shouted once I got out of Mustang.

Like the boys motorcycles, my mustang was my baby. It was custom made with a body kit, nearly touching the ground, making it look even faster than it had looked before. It was a cheerful fiery orange color and had Lamborghini style doors. Part of it was a graduation present, but Juice and I had made a few changes, leading to a kick-ass stereo system and all the other changes.

"Thanks, Izzy," Juice grinned, taking one of the two bags from my hands.

Jean Carlos Ortiz, or Juice as most people called him was one of the newer members of the SOA. He had black hair that was shaved into a short Mohawk. There were two tribal style lightening bolt tattoos on either side of his head. He was about five ten and one of the smartest people I knew. At least when it came to anything technological. He was a very skilled hacker and normally watched over the extensive security cameras that were all over the auto shop and the clubhouse. Making sure that wouldn't be any surprises that might sneak up on them. Like random police or other MC visits.

"Hope you boys didn't have to wait too long," I grimaced. "The diner was swamped."

"People minding their manners?" Juice asked. A gleam of promised retribution if the people had been less than cordial to any of us.

"Of course," I smirked. "No one has the balls not to be."

Juice smirked as we walked into clubhouse. It was still early in the day so there were no hang-arounds yet but they'd be there soon. I laid some of the Styrofoam containers on the bar counter. I looked around and saw that the clubhouse was filthy. Rolling my eyes I grabbed a trash bag from the cabinets under the kitchen sink and began to toss in garbage and the like. As I moved I caught a glimpse of the dark blue Anarchy symbol tattooed on my wrist, all the daughters of the original nine had one. It was our way of showing who we were, since we couldn't ever be Sons. Another way was the Crow tattoo. But that was a privilege reserved for the old ladies, a term that members called their wives or steady girlfriends, if you were an old lady you were allowed to get a crow tattoo. In a way it showed that you belonged to the SOA. The tattoo showed possession along with protection. Both Tori and Kat had the Crow. Most members had a lot of tattoos either of the reaper from the cut, or some variation there of. Basically if the tattoo related to the Sons in any way, a member had it.

"Hey," I patted Juice on the shoulder as I caught something on one of the security cameras. "Who's the kid?"

"Our newest prospect," Juice responded. "Chibs' found him."

Filip 'Chibs' Telford was different from all the other members because he's Scottish, and was once a member of the True IRA, the organization that supplied us with guns. He had been kicked out of Northern Ireland, for what, I didn't know. The nickname of Chibs came from his facial scars. Known to most as a Glasgow grin, meaning someone had cut open his face, making his smile even wider. The cuts had long since healed but everyone knew what they were. He had been called Chibs ever since. He was around six foot with deep blue eyes and brown hair.

"Where?" I asked.

"No idea."

I watched the feed from the cameras and watched the messy-haired strawberry blonde head of the newest prospect running towards the clubhouse. Seconds later he ran through the front door and glanced around.

"What's wrong, Half-sack?" Juice asked.

"Just hungry," The kid shrugged. "Clay let me go on break."

"Half-sack?" I questioned.

"I got my left nut blown off in Iraq," Half-sack explained. Before I could respond he had unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants and boxers down. True to his word, he was missing a ball.

"Dude," Juice started. "You shouldn't-"

"What the fuck, prospect?" Jax interrupted.

"Uh…Jax…I," Half-sack stuttered.

"Pull your pants up, you idiot," Jax snapped.

"Jax, don't scare 'im," I rolled my eyes before turning towards the prospect. "You got a real name?"

"Kip Epps," Half-sack replied. "And you are?"

"Isabelle Teller," I smiled.

Half-sack's eyes widened in shock as he took a cautious step back before looking at Jax and Juice, looking for a hint.

"I'm his sister," I filled in the blanks, worried that he thought that I was Jax's old lady or something.

"My _baby_ sister," Jax added with a glare. He then turned the aforementioned look on me when I smacked his shoulder.

"Oh," Half-sack nodded, looking even more nervous. Poor kid. "I can see the resemblance."

I rolled my eyes with a smirk as Jax moved in front of me. I hadn't been around TM in about a week so that must've been when Half-sack had been voted into prospect status. I tried to see whether or not I remembered seeing him around prior to that but nothing came to mind. Normally there were male hang-arounds, getting to know the members and then they were prospects, then they were either patched in or let go.

"Get back to work," Jax ordered.

"Here you go, Half-sack," I said offering one of the unclaimed take out boxes to him. His appearance explained why there had been more boxes lately. He grabbed the box with a smile before he turn on his heel and walked out of the clubhouse. Juice grabbed his own and then followed after the prospect, leaving Jax and I alone.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jax shrugged. "Everything's fine. What about you? You look tired."

"I'm fine, Jackson," I replied. "You know you didn't have to scare the crap out of the prospect."

"Izzy," Jax rolled his eyes. His voice dropping a pitch, a warning, "gotta teach the new kid his place."

"Whatever you say," I mumbled. "Where's Ma?"

"The office," Jax stated.

"Okay, I'm gonna go say hi, then I gotta go back to the diner," I announced.

"I'll see you later," Jax mumbled, kissing me on the forehead. "Be careful, Darlin'."

"You know it," I grinned.

I walked out of the office, crossing the lot with Ma's food as I slid into the main office. Both doors to the office were open, making it nosy because one of the doors led straight to the garage. I waved at some of the guys who smiled and waved at me.

"Hi, Ma," I greeted, kissing her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"Fine, baby," Ma replied with a tired smile. "Somehow I've fallen behind on invoices."

"You need help?" I asked.

"I'm fine," Ma returned. "How are you? I caught Amanda and Janice bickering on the street again."

"For fucks sake," I grumbled. "I really am questioning why Anna and I ever bothered hiring her. She and Janice have clashed from day one."

"Petty high school bullshit," Ma shrugged. "I'm sure you still remember."

"Yeah," I shuddered. "Fun times."

Mom gave a knowing smirk as she grabbed the take out box from my hand. It was her usual order of grilled chicken Caesar salad, heavy on the tomatoes. We talked for a few more minutes before I decided that I had been gone from the diner for long enough. I was on my way back to my car when a hand snaked out, grabbing my wrist before leading me around the side of the garage. One of the few places that didn't have a security camera near it.

"Bella." Warm chocolate brown eyes pierced my own as the person in question pressed me against the brick, his body hot and hard against mine.

"Marco." I smiled

Marco Vellenueva, the only boy of Chico Vellenueva, the third founder of the Sons of Anarchy. The first three families had grown up together. It was always Anna, Marco, and I at least until high school had ended. Anna and I had stayed behind and opened the diner, Marco wanted to serve. He had done exactly what he wanted to going into the army and rising through the ranks, just like his father before him. He was one of the best snipers in his unit. It was insane how accurate he was with a sniper rifle. Cougar was a nickname that had come from that experience and it had stuck when he had been discharged a little over a year ago. He had gotten hurt in Afghanistan and sent home. When Marco came home, he felt so guilty about what had happened. How he was home and the rest of his unit, his brothers were still in the line of fire. He was hurt, bad. His leg was all fucked up and it took a lot of physical therapy to get it back to where it would function normally again. Once the doctors cleared him, Marco threw himself into the SOA, becoming a prospect, his year was almost up.

Marco and my relationship had once been purely platonic but when he had come back from overseas something had changed. He had changed. He never liked to talk about what happened in Afghanistan but there was no denying that he was different, his once open brown eyes now held a haunting quality to them. A sign that the war was so much worse then anything the news stations were telling us.

When Marco first became a prospect to the club that our relationship changed. It happened at one of the weekly parties the Sons threw. We each had a few too many and the next thing I remember was waking up in bed together the both of us naked. The first few days had been awkward going from friendship to something more. And even though Marco was a founding member's kid himself, I was off limits as the daughter of the founding member, the daughter of the President, and the sister of the Vice President. Still the fact that I was off limits only made things all the more enticing because as much as I was off limits to him I was supposed to stay away from him as well.

"How've you been?" Marco asked.

"Fine," I shrugged. "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah," Marco sighed. "Literally got in a half hour ago."

"Everything okay?" I asked.

Tacoma had recently had a flare up with our main rivals: the Mayans. There had been problems with the rival MC for as long as I had been alive, maybe even longer. Their mother charter was based out of Stockton, California. There had been a lot of blood lost between the two clubs.

I didn't really know details but I knew that the Mayans were pushing in on Tacoma's territory. So, the charter needed bodies so the Nomads had gone up along with a few of our boys, including Marco.

"Everything's fine," Marco shrugged. "They just needed bodies."

"Makes sense," I agreed.

"I missed you," Marco grinned, his voice becoming husky as he moved even closer to me. I tilted my head up in time for his lips to meet mine. One of his hands wrapped itself in my golden locks and the slid down to palm my ass. His tongue slid against my mouth and I willingly deepened the kiss. I had missed him so much. It had almost been a week since I had seen him last.

We would've gone a lot further when there was a sudden crash in the garage followed my a exasperated yell of, "God damn it, Half-sack!"

It startled us out of our little moment and made us realize that we weren't even close to alone. If one of the patched members saw…

"My house later?" I whispered, fixing my hair and clothing. "Finish what we started?" I added with a smirk.

"Definitely," Marco agreed.

I slipped out of our hiding spot first walking around to come out on the other side of the lot. I got into my car and was about to close the door when a hand dropped on my door, halting the movement entirely. I looked up into the green eyes of Tig.

Alexander 'Tig' Trager was an all around good guy or at least he meant well. As the Charming charter's Sergeant at Arms he was completely loyal to my stepfather. He'd follow Clay one hundred percent, no questions asked. Although his loyalty to Sam Crow was quite the asset, he was a twisted in the head. Tig was one of the two of the most violent members of SOA. Tig had tousled brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was also tall maybe around six foot or six one. Most of the time we loved to fight with one another exchanging insults back and forth. He was one of the most entertaining ones to rile up. But, it was a careful line, he wasn't afraid to hit a woman.

"Hi, Tigger," I greeted.

"Where were you?" He asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You weren't in the office, the clubhouse, or the garage, but your car's been here," Tig shrugged. "You normally drop the food, chat, then you head back."

"Felt like taking a walk around," I replied with a bit of a bite. "Problem?"

"Not at all," Tig stated.

"Tig!" Chibs shouted. "Clay wants ya!"

"I'll talk to you later, baby doll," Tig replied closing my car door firmly.

I started the car, swinging it in reverse before driving out of the lot. There was a reason Tig was the Sergeant at Arms. He was very perceptive and knew when people were lying to him, most of the time. Of all the members it had to be Tig who got suspicious. I shook my head, grimacing at my bad luck. We just had to sneak around for a few more weeks, then we'd be able to become official.

I pulled into the parking lot in the back of the diner noticing a Harley parked up close to the back door. I recognized the graphics on the bike and smirked as I moved into the diner, letting the backdoor slam shut behind me as I made my way to the front.

"Iz!"

"Damien," I greeted with a smile.

Damien was the only son of Thomas Whitney, better known to Sam Crow as Uncle Tom; he was the second youngest of the original nine; he had been in Clay's division in the air force. It had been Clay who had brought Tom to Charming and into the Sons of Anarchy. Tom and his wife, Michelle had one son, Damien. He was tall, almost Marco's height with silver eyes and dark brown hair. Unlike Marco, Damien didn't wait, he had jumped right into being a prospect, only a week after we had all graduated. That was why Damien was currently a fully patched member, while Marco was still a prospect.

There was only one reason why Damien would be in the diner. And though all the families of the first nine were close (at least the ones who were stateside), it wasn't for me or Anna. Nope, Kat had captured his heart years ago, back when we were all still in high school. The day that Damien got his full back patch, the one the younger members had taken to tattooing on themselves was the day that Kat got her crow. She had chosen to get it on the back of her neck, which was normally always on show, since she either cut her hair short enough for people to see it or wore her hair up.

"How're things?" Damien asked as I returned to my normal place behind the counter.

"Surprisingly normal," I grinned. "I think this is the longest we've gone without drama. We should have a days without things going sideways count, or something."

"That would work," Anna scoffed.

"Anna Banana," Damien smirked. "About time you came out of that back room."

"I thought so," Anna laughed, grabbing some plates from the pass and giving them to the older gentlemen sitting at the counter.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to TM?" I asked. "I ran into Marco before I left. Seems like he's the first one back from the excursion."

"I have a better idea," Damien laughed. "Why don't you let Kat out early?"

Anna and I exchanged a glance before I looked back to Damien.

"Come on, you guys," Damien cajoled. "You were gonna shut down early anyway."

"The guy has a point," I smirked.

"Yeah, fine," Anna laughed.

Damien didn't wait for us to tell Kat the news; instead he jogged around the counter and walked straight into the kitchen. Seconds later there was a squeal and a crash before Damien emerged once more, with Kat thrown over one shoulder. She was kicking her legs and punching him in the back, laughing all the while.

"You two be safe-" I teased.

"-And use protection," Anna finished with a cocky grin.

Damien sparred us a small glare as he pushed open the glass door, the bell chiming cheerfully as it shut behind them.

"I'll go help Tori," Anna finally said.

"Okay, I'll run the front," I shrugged.

Things continued to run fairly smoothly as we continued to keep food flowing out of the kitchen. I had to scold Amanda and Janice twice for shoving one another as they moved around the diner but other than that it was a normal day.

"Closing time," I announced a few hours later.

It was more for our benefit then for the few stragglers that remained. Everyone in Charming knew that the diner's hours tended to be erratic on occasion. But, this occasion was more special than normal. Today at around two in the afternoon, Opie Winston had been released from Chino. He had been in prison for five long years on an arson charge. It was a crime that he had committed, however, if he hadn't been abandoned in the truck yard he might not have had to face those charges at all.

"Girls, you can go home," I said. "Anna and I can finish cleaning the tables."

I was over by the counter cleaning it with wide sweeping circles. Suddenly Anna gasped, causing me to swing around. Before I could ask what was going on she had already answered, "Iz, you know that days without drama count?"

"Yeah?" I asked cautiously.

"I think it just went down to zero," Anna winced.

I joined my best friend by the window and saw that normally peaceful dark blue sky was glowing in the distance with oranges, yellows, and reds. Fire. I thought maybe it could be a wildfire, it was California, after all. But when a giant fireball was thrown up into the air I realized that it couldn't possibly be a wildfire.

"Shit," I mumbled.

"Now, that's a fire," Anna whistled. "Jesus."

"There's nothing but warehouses up there," I stated.

"Like the blue bird warehouse?" Anna retorted.

"What should we do?" I asked.

"What can we do?" Anna scoffed. "We're not even supposed to know about that warehouse."

"Shit," I mumbled. "Tonight's the party."

"Um, yeah," Anna blinked, prying her eyes away from the blast to look at me. "I got a call from my father earlier asking where the hell we were."

"Then let's get going," I shrugged. "At least we'll have the party as cover to throw the blame of the blue bird warehouse elsewhere."

"Here we are," Anna laughed as she weaved through the crowds of people to park next to my mother's car. "Home sweet home."

We climbed out of the car and pushed through the randoms to find people who would know what was going on. While Anna and I had figured out what was happening it was nice to make sure. Jumping to conclusions in this life could kill you.

"You see anyone?" I asked.

"Nope, not yet," Anna frowned, her emerald eyes scanning the lot. "Oh, I found Tig and Happy."

My eyes roamed the lot until I saw the boxing ring set up closest to the garage. Tig was fighting with Happy, a member of the Tacoma charter. Happy was a sick bastard and not in the best way. He was loyal to the club, which was what mattered but it still sent a shiver down my spine that he marked every assassination with a smiley face. That was how he had gotten the nickname in the first place. Happy and Tig were two of the most violent members of SOA. That was a hard thing to wrap one's head around since most men that I knew in the club had done jail stints and weren't afraid to get physical if a situation called for it. But, Tig and Happy were called on whenever there was a job other people didn't have the stomach for. Another Sons of Anarchy member shoved his way in between Hap and Tig separating them easily.

The gray and brown-frizzy-haired, beer-bellied figure of the secretary of the mother charter emerged into the middle of the ring separating the two men fighting with ease. Bobby Munson was one of the Sons who were protective but not suffocatingly so. In addition for keeping the books for anything the Sons were involved in, he was an Elvis impersonator and frequently had gigs in Tahoe. He also helped us with our books, making sure we got all the tax exemptions right and stuff like that. A cigar was dangling out of his mouth as he said something to both Tig and Hap. When the latter two hugged, it was clear that the fight was over.

"You think Clay and Jax went to check things out tonight?" Anna wondered.

"Naw," I shook my head. "They have no idea what they're walking into. They'll probably go in the morning or something. As long as people see all the Sons at the party, there's alibis all around, that's all that matters."

"Yeah," Anna agreed.

We were still scanning the lot at parties like this the crowd was overwhelming. People came out in mass looking to have a good time. There were the male hang-arounds cooking up burgers and the like, the fire casting an odd glow against the clubhouse. The Sons of Anarchy in the front of the grill was sparking happily.

There was an undercurrent of tension with those of us who were completely in the loop concerning the affairs of the SOA. Despite that the party was a welcome one. There were normally always a party after church but it had been a while since we had a welcome back party.

"Found the guest of honor," I smirked.

Anna didn't bother to reply instead she broke into a run pushing innocent people aside to jump into her brother's outstretched arms. He picked her up and swung her around, a huge grin on his face. It was easy to spot Opie in a crowd, he towered over a lot of people. I walked up to the siblings in time to hear the tail end of their conversation.

""I've missed you, kid," Opie whispered, holding Anna as tightly as she was holding him.

"Me too," Anna whispered.

"I drove by the diner on the way here," Opie announced, returning Anna to her feet. "It looks nice."

"Thanks," Anna and I chorused.

"Izzy," Opie grinned.

He closed the distance between us and hugged. He lifted me off the ground, squeezing me tightly.

"How are you, Iz?" Opie asked.

"I'm pretty good," I smirked. "How does it feel to be free?"

"Great," Opie smiled. "Donnas' not exactly happy that I'm here…"

"I know," I sighed. "We talked. You apparently promised that you were earning straight."

"You going to make fun of me too?" Opie laughed.

"No, I run a diner," I replied. "That's earning straight."

"Straightish," Anna corrected.

"I just want to try," Opie groaned.

"I have faith in you, Ope," I soothed. "If anyone could earn completely straight it would be you. Enjoying your party?"

"It's good to see everyone again," Opie agreed. "No one's really changed except for you two, of course."

"We were nineteen when you got sent away, Ope," I sighed.

"Picked a hell of a night to have a party," Opie noted.

"What can I say?" Jax joked, easing in between Opie and I. "The Sons are known for having amazing timing."

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna get a beer. Anyone want anything?"

When everyone said that they were fine I ambled off in search of beer. The lit cigarette in my hand was quickly burning down to the filter. I quickly smoked the last of it before tossing it down and stepping on it to kill the flame. I grabbed one of the beers that was set up near the grill smiling at the man behind it as I glanced around.

The crow eaters were out in force tonight, I noted with a small amount of scorn. There were only three kinds of women involved in this world. The old ladies, who were to be respected. They belonged only to their old man, and if anyone was disrespectful of that they'd get their ass kicked. Then there was family members sisters and daughters and the like. Finally there was crow-eaters. They were the lowest rung on the totem pole, not belonging to any one member. Crow-eaters were whores, plain and simple. They couldn't refuse sex and were passed around until they became an old lady or they were kicked out. Most people were confused as to why women would subject themselves to that. The truth was they either wanted the protect or the bragging rights.

I wrinkled my nose as I watched the crow-eaters throw themselves at the club barely wearing enough cloth to cover their unmentionables. Most of their outfits left absolutely nothing to the imagination. One of the sluts were all over Marco and without even a conscious thought, I crossed the lot standing close to the pair, glaring up at him.

"Baby," Marco stuttered stepping away from the crow-eater.

"Baby?" The crow-eater repeated. "This bitch is your old lady?"

"Izzy, this isn't what it looks like," Marco reasoned.

I spared him a look before staring at the girl. The wise words of my mother echoed around my head. Ma had counseled countless of old ladies, giving them advice about the life. The famous ones: what happens on a run, stays on a run. That if you love the man, you learn to love the club, that was geared more towards Donna, Opie's old lady, who hated Sam Crow, even more so now because of Opie's incarceration. And the most important was the one about the crow-eaters. Ma explained that it wasn't your man's fault, the club would always be desirable to woman who wanted the thrill of a bad boy. Still, you didn't have to let it stand. Ma had said, "They think they're all free dicks, ya gotta educate. Set the bitch straight, others see it, everyone knows."

Even though Marco and I had only been dating for around six months, we had known each other our entire lives. He knew me: inside and out, just like I knew him. Which was why he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Izzy, you can't," Marco whispered. "There's only two weeks, baby."

"Two weeks," I repeated.

Two more weeks before we could make our relationship public. That I would be his old lady, get the crow and be the girlfriend of a son. Until then it was imperative that we keep this quiet. Maybe nothing would happen but there was the risk of him not being patched in for ignoring the wishes of the president and VP.

With one last dark look at Marco and the slut I turned on my heel, figuring that I'd hang out with Anna or find my mother or Clay in this mess and talk to them. Instead a hand grabbed my hair and ripped me backward. One glance told me all I needed to know. That little slut had grabbed my hair. If I was capable I would've shaken my head, this was far from my first catfight, she had no idea what she had just gotten herself into. I was going to let it go because Marco was right. Now though, I had another reason self-defense. No one would believe a crow-eater over me.

I kicked backwards grinning when I heard a squeal of pain. She let go of my hair trying to reach her now throbbing shin. I advanced on her with unmasked glee. If Tig was here he'd be so proud of the relish I now felt. The girl, who was new to this whole thing, now that I thought about it tried to back up. But, she wasn't fast enough as I curled my right hand into a fist and threw it at her jaw. As she fell to the ground I followed her, straddling her hips and punching her multiple times in the face and torso. The slut shrieked and cried and tried to throw me off. Though, it wasn't until arms wrapped around my waist sending me airborne and then against someone's chest that I stopped.

"Calm down," Marco soothed pulling me further away from the crow-eater. "Jesus Izzy."

"What just happened?" Jax asked appearing next to Marco and I.

"That skank grabbed my hair," I snarled, still angry about that. Even though punches and scratches hurt, getting your hair pulled was a different kind of hurt. One that I didn't appreciate.

"Sack, get the bitch out of here," Jax ordered gesturing to the girl who was still trying to get up.

"Bella!" Jax shouted holding my face in his hands as he tried to gain eye contact. "Calm the fuck down. Just take a deep breath."

"Let me go," I whispered.

"You going to attack anyone else?" Jax questioned.

I shook my head and Jax signaled to let me go.

"I'm taking you home," Jax said after a few seconds.

"It's okay, I'll walk," I shrugged.

"No, you won't," Jax responded. "Come on, you look tired."

I agreed, knowing that Jax wouldn't let me walk home. I made the rounds saying goodbye to everyone. Once I finished with that I walked over to where the motorcycles stayed. They were all parked in a straight line going in rank order from the president all the way to the prospects and hang-arounds. Jax was now the national vice president of the Sons of Anarchy, taking Big Otto's place when he went away for second-degree murder. Before Otto went away he had to chose a successor, which was how Jax got the position.

I accepted the extra helmet, strapping it on my head before climbing on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist before he drove off of TM's lot and in the direction of my house. Jax maneuvered his motorcycle through the backstreets. The streets near and around TM were called Sam Crow's corner. Most of us lived in that sector; it made it easier to connect to one another whenever something happened. Jax pulled into my driveway, idling the engine as I hoped off the motorcycle. I pulled the helmet off as I handed it over to Jax, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

As I turned to go he grabbed my wrist, effectively stilling my movements. I turned back around with a sigh and a groan, "Jax, please, I'm tired."

"You want to tell me what that was back there?" Jax asked.

"A crow-eater grabbed my hair so I put her in her place," I shrugged.

"That was a pretty severe beating for someone pulling your hair, Izzy," Jax frowned. "Was there something else?"

"That girl was one of Wendy's friends," I mumbled. Just because I had never seen the girl before didn't mean that she didn't know any of the other crow-eaters, they often banded together because the Sons just wanted them for sex and the Old ladies looked down on them as nothing more than cumrags.

"Why do you hate Wendy so much?" Jax groaned.

"Jackson," I rolled my eyes. "Can we not go there? It's not like it matters anymore she's your ex."

The look Jax shot me was full of disapproval, though I pretended not to notice. It wasn't like my big brother was surprised by that turn of events. Wendy and I had never gotten along. I thought she was trash nothing more that an easy lay and a junkie but somehow she had hooked her claws into Jax. Then she was invited to family dinners and stopped by the diner and TM a lot. He even took her to get the crow, what I had always thought was the biggest mistake of his life.

Wendy Case and Jax's relationship was not a stable one. He cheated on her on runs, off runs, really whenever he felt like it. Not that Wendy would really notice, she was too high to care about most things. Jax didn't like drugs, he especially didn't like someone he was intimate with on them. They had been broken up for about two years before they reconciled, resulting in her pregnancy, which was what broke them up all over again. It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

"I'll see you later, okay?" I finally said.

"See you later, Darlin'," Jax replied kissing my forehead.

I hitched my bag higher on my shoulder as I grabbed my house keys, letting myself into the house. I shut and locked the front door before I armed the security system. I heard the roar of Jax's motorcycle down street after I had flipped on the lights as I made my way to the back room, quickly stripping out of clothes and into an over-sized shirt I slept it. I climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.


	2. Bad Blood

**Chapter Two: Bad Blood**

_"__Sometimes I wonder if anything is absolute anymore. Is there still right and wrong? Good and bad? Truth and lies? Or is everything negotiable, left to interpretation, gray? Sometimes we're forced to bend the truth to transform it because we're faced with things that are not of our own making. And sometimes, things simply catch up with us."_

I had just moved into a modest ranch style house. It was a two-story brick house. It had two bathrooms and three bedrooms. The walls were painted in warm colors. Most of the walls were decked with family pictures and there a Reaper mural in the dining room. The living room had a large television, a play station and DVD player. There was a large brown leather couch that was pushed up against one wall and wrapped around one of the walls at the center was a small coffee table, covered in magazines.

I hesitated in the front hallway where the majority of the pictures were. There were pictures of Mom, John, Jax, Tommy, and I, one of those staged family portraits that she insisted on. Well all looked so happy, Mom and John were sitting down, and Jax was behind them a hand on either of their shoulders. Tommy and I were on our parent's lap, it was a cute picture. The one next to it was of Clay, Mom, Jax, and I. There was also pictures of Jax and I, one was taken on the day of senior prom. I was in my dark blue prom dress, Jax was in his cut, his arm thrown over my shoulder both of us grinning at the camera. Directly next to it was our prom party of Damien, Anna, Marco, and I waving towards whoever was taking the pictures.

There other pictures at graduation and various other places. The clubhouse, other people houses and at parties where everyone was willing to pile into the picture. My favorite picture though was one with Tommy, Jax, and I. It was in between hospitalizations for Tommy, we had all piled into the car and drove to the beach. We were all wet from the water, sand stuck to our legs. I was sitting on Jax's shoulders, my hands on top of his head, one of his hands on my knee, probably stabilizing me to keep me from falling off. Tommy was curled into Jax's side, all of us looked so happy. That was probably the last time that I ever saw Tommy outside the hospital.

I walked back down the hallway and into the kitchen quickly turning on the coffee maker before going outside to get the paper. I nearly jumped ten feet in the air when I opened my front door almost running right smack into Marco.

"Jesus!" I yelped stumbling back.

"Hey," Marco smiled shyly. "Here's your paper. And I made one of the boys bring your car back."

"Thanks," I replied. "You want coffee?"

"Yes, please," Marco answered shutting the door behind him as he followed me back into the kitchen settling himself into the breakfast nook. I walked over to the cabinet that held the coffee cups grabbing two; quickly pouring two full cups of coffee. I added two teaspoons of sugar to mine and gave Marco's to him as it was.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Marco finally asked.

"What is there to talk about?" I responded.

"Iz," Marco sighed. "She threw herself at me."

"Didn't have to catch her," I mumbled. "Why didn't you show up last night?"

"I did," Marco corrected. "You were passed out, I didn't wanna wake you."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Okay."

"What?" Marco growled. "Suddenly you don't trust me, chica?"

"It's not you I don't trust," I replied.

"Izzy, nothing is going to happen with any of those other girls," Marco soothed. "You know you're the only one for me."

"I know."

"Then what's the problem?" Marco questioned. "You're mad I didn't wake you up? Baby, you barely get any sleep as it is, I'm not going to wake you up."

I didn't drink anything choosing instead to drink my coffee, stiffening when Marco got up from the bench and put his back against my chest. I placed my coffee mug on the counter just in time for Marco to whirl me around trapping me with his body and the granite of the counter. I giggled as he reached down picking me up and placing me on the countertop so that I was slightly taller than him.

He walked closer so that he was in between the V of my legs; kissing me firmly. I wound my hands in his hair as he slid his tongue in my mouth. My skin was thrumming, every nerve ending was singing and reacting setting my skin on fire. I was quickly rid of my nightshirt leaving me in just a pair of boy shirts. I moaned low in my throat as his warm hands found my breasts, pinching the nipple drawing the other one into his mouth.

"Marco," I gasped.

"Yes, baby?" Marco smirked.

"I need you."

"Oh, do you now?"

With a hiss of frustration, my hands landed on his belt buckle. I unbuckled the belt and unzipped his jeans, shucking them down his legs. Marco's nimble fingers slid underneath me managing to pull off my underwear without moving me around too much. I gasped when he slid home, all the way to the hilt, causing some delicious friction. I clawed at his back, kissing him passionately. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that I was going to be bruised later, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Marco tugged me closer to him, my legs wrapped around his torso, squeezing tightly for stability. My inner walls clenched around him creating even more delicious friction causing both of us to gasp. Our movements became even more crazed as we approached that precipice and was thrown over it in the next instant. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, suddenly tired. Though, there was no doubt about it, sex might be even better than Xanax, all the tension I had before seemed to have melted away. Marco leaned his chin on top of my head as our heartbeats began to slow back down to normal levels.

"I love you, Isabelle Teller," Marco whispered.

"I love you too," I replied.

"This is so sweet." I yelped and cursed as I slid off the counter and hid behind Marco, because I was the only one who was completely naked. Glancing over his shoulder I saw Jax standing, spine rigid, feet shoulder width apart, glaring at both of us. Spinning the familiar key ring around his index finger. I was gonna have to steal that back on of these days, he had awful timing.

"Put your clothes on, Bella," Jax growled.

"Jax-"

"Did I say something you don't understand?" Jax snapped, glaring at me furiously.

"Jax-" Marco tried.

Marco was interrupted as well as Jax stared daggers at him, "Shut. Up. Prospect."

I quickly grabbed my nightshirt from the floor, pulling it over my body, blushing from head to toe. We must've been so lost in what we were doing that neither of us heard the motorcycle, which was almost too loud to not hear it. Although, I've been hearing motorcycles every day of my entire life, so maybe I was a little too use to them.

"Get out of here, Cougar," Jax ordered sharply.

Marco looked back at me, which only seemed to infuriate Jax further as he grabbed Marco by the labels of his prospect cut with a clean collar and jerk, sending Marco stumbling towards the front door. This was bad, this was very, very bad. I grimaced as I stared at the ground Marco's departure made it so the full displeasure of my brother was completely focused on me.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" I mumbled after a few minutes of silence.

"I walked in on my baby sister fucking a prospect in her kitchen," Jax growled slowly, enunciating each word as if he was explaining something to a small child. I hated it when he talked like that.

"Technically we had finished fucking," I muttered, completely aware that I was sounding far more petulant than I meant to.

"Isabelle," Jax snapped.

I straightened up, recognizing the tone for what it was. A warning, telling me that he was already close to losing his temper; it would be unwise to push him any further.

"You know that you're off limits to prospects," Jax said.

"Which doesn't make sense," I complained. "I'm not anyone's old lady."

"It's disrespectful," Jax retorted. "To me. To Clay. He snuck around behind our back to hook up with you. Being the vice president's sister and the President's daughter is a responsibility."

"That I never asked for," I muttered. "It's Marco, Jax. He's one of the founder's kids too. He's not a normal prospect."

"How long has this been going on?" Jax demanded. Ignoring the fact that I had a made a decent point. Jax himself hadn't been a normal prospect, neither had Opie, or Damien. So, why would Marco be any different?

"A few months," I shrugged. "Jax, please. He's going to be patched in soon. Can't you keep this to yourself?"

"Come on, we need to talk to Clay," Jax said. "Go get dressed and then we're going to the shop."

"I have to get to the diner," I protested.

"Go get dressed and then we're going to talk to Clay," Jax repeated.

I knew there was little I could say to change Jax's mind, so I turned on my heel and walked back towards my bedroom. I put on a simple black blouse that was slightly fitted then flared out once it hit my hips. I then grabbed my leather leggings pulling them on and then put on a pair of peep-toe heels. I grabbed my leather jacket off the hook on the back of my door, sliding into it as I met my brother by the front door.

I grabbed my bag and then followed Jax outside. I shut the front door and locked it before climbing onto his bike. I wrapped my arms around his stomach as he drove straight towards TM. When we pulled into the lot I saw that it wasn't to busy yet. Almost all the bikes were accounted for, including Clay's. As Jax maneuvered his bike into the spot I fought back a frown. Things got a lot more embarrassing as Jax grabbed my arm pulling me into the clubhouse. Bobby, Tig, and Clay all looked up from where they were gathered. The chapel doors were open and something was spread out over the Sam Crow table.

The Chapel was the inner sanctum normally only patch-wearing members were allowed inside. Under certain circumstances the prospects were allowed to sit in or if something was an emergency they were allowed to enter. But, I could count on one hand the number of times I had been allowed inside.

"What's goin' on?" Clay asked looking between Jax and I. A mixture of confusion and curiosity dancing across his face.

"This is absolutely ridiculous, Jackson," I hissed lowly.

"We have a problem," Jax stated, ignoring me and locking eyes with Clay, "Can we talk to you, alone?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Clay replied. "Give me a minute, fellas?"

"No problem," Tig said while Bobby nodded in agreement.

"Mornin' Bells," Tig greeted giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Tig," I smiled, pretending that Jax wasn't trying to drag me into the Chapel. "Hi Bobby."

"So, what's wrong?" Clay asked.

"Jax is completely overreacting," I hissed.

"About?" Clay prompted.

"I found her and Cougar this morning," Jax announced.

Clay seemed confused at the statement at first before he realized what Jax was hinting at. After all Marco and I had always been close, us hanging out wasn't all too unusual. Once Clay realized what had happened, his features hardened as he looked beyond the Chapel doors to see if Marco was in the clubhouse, he wasn't.

"Dad, please," I whispered. "It wasn't his fault. Don't punish him for something that was my idea."

"Izzy," Clay sighed. "What were you thinking?"

"I really like him," I mumbled. "I'm sorry I snuck around-"

"You know better," Clay growled, interrupting me. "Now the question is whether we put it up for a vote or keep this indiscretion to the few who know? What do you think VP? Cougar's your prospect."

"Cougar has proven useful," Jax pondered. "But this sneaking around shit isn't cool."

"We didn't mean it to be disrespectful," I replied. "Contrary to popular belief, Jackson, my sex life isn't any of your business."

"Isabelle, enough," Clay chided. "I don't want to hear about my daughter's sex life. I want you two to lay off for two weeks, when Marco is patched in you two can be a couple, okay?"

"Yes, sir," I grinned. "Thanks, Daddy."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek before I walked outside of chapel, frowning when I realized that my car wasn't here. I sighed and stopped short looking around. The chapel doors had shut behind me leaving Clay and Jax alone. I sat down on the couch by the Chapel, waiting for Jax to come out so he can drive me to the diner or back to my house so I could get my car. As I was waiting my cell phone began to ring.

"Hey, Anna, what's up?" I greeted.

"Where are you?" Anna questioned. She didn't sound annoyed merely confused.

"Long story. I'm at TM, I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay," Anna replied. "But that's not why I'm calling. I have news."

"Oh?" I prompted.

"Yup," Anna smirked. "Guess who I saw on my way to work this morning."

"Who?" I asked.

"Tara Knowles," Anna announced.

Tara was the only girl that had ever stolen my brother's heart. They loved each other, had been with one another throughout high school. And it wasn't one of those on-again off-again dysfunctional relationships. Tara and Jax got together and stayed together.

Tara had green eyes and reddish brown hair. I always thought that she and Jax would get married at one; I mean they were great together. But, then Tara had graduated high school and wanted to go to college. She begged that Jax just come with her, she'd only be going to UC San Diego but Jax refused to leave the club behind. They had a few giant fights before things had broken off. It was not a nice break up, not in the least. Tara had been gone for eleven years, it didn't make sense that she'd ever come back.

"No way," I disagreed. "She'd never come back to Charming."

Tara had left two months before her fall classes were slated to start, she began to hate Charming because of the club's heavy-handed influence on the town.

"Well, she's back," Anna stated. "Her dad did kick it two months back, maybe she's settling affairs."

"Jesus Christ," I mumbled.

"Although the real question is if she's back to stay?" Anna wondered. "Does Jax know? Or Gemma?"

"I don't think so," I scoffed. "Mom's been in a good mood."

"Gemma's gonna kill her," Anna whistled.

"Yeah, maybe I should pay her a visit first," I mused.

"You going to come to the diner at any time?" Anna questioned.

"I'll be there soon," I responded.

I glanced towards the Chapel and frowned Jax and Clay had yet to come out and I was getting antsy. It was easy enough to find someone else to give me a ride to the diner. Being a Sam Crow princess had it's perks, one of which that they boys were almost always willing to do be a favor.

I walked out into the garage glancing around. Patched-in members mixed with hang-arounds, and other decent mechanics. I walked around before I found Damien was currently working with Marco and Half-Sack. Knowing that it wasn't smart to go right up to Marco after the morning I had, I figured that it would be harmless if I was asking Damien for a ride to the diner.

"Hey, Dee, can I ask you for a favor?" I asked as I approached the three.

"Sure, Iz, go ahead," Damien shrugged turning around.

"Can you give me a ride to the diner?" I rolled my eyes. "Jax, is pissin' me off."

"Uh," Damien winced.

"If he has problems with me going to work he's gonna yell at me not you," I soothed.

"Yeah," Damien agreed. "Okay, I'll give you a lift."

"Thanks," I grinned.

"No problem, just give me a minute?" Damien asked.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "I'll wait by your bike."

I looked over to Marco who was purposefully avoiding my gaze as he pretended to work on the car that was on their lift. It was probably for the best at this point, though. Clay and Jax were willing to keep things quiet if we kept sneaking around they would probably change their minds. Not to spite me, of course, but both Clay and Jax had reputations to uphold.

I made sure to thank Damien and offer him free coffee once he stopped in front of the diner. Of course, the Sons never had to pay for anything. Anna and I had made it clear that the Sons were to be given food and drinks free of charge. Mostly because Clay didn't make use pay the same dues as other businesses to make sure they had the SOA's protection and support. So, Anna and decided that we'd give them free meals instead. It seemed like a pretty even trade to us.

Damien followed me in taking a seat at the counter as I went to put my stuff in the office. Anna grabbed my elbow as I walked by and gave me a what-the-hell-happened look to which I rolled my eyes and sighed. That was the ugh-I-have-bad-luck sign. She smirked and nodded before going over to Damien saying something that made him laugh. I threw my bag and coat on my desk before I shut the door; walking back onto the floor.

"Where's Janice?" I asked Rosie, one of our full time waitresses, she normally took the earlier shifts when Janice and Amanda were at school.

"Detention," Rosie laughed. "She punched Amanda in the face."

"Seriously," I groaned. "Annie, did you hear that?"

"At least it's not on our property, so it's not our problem," Anna shrugged. "We do have to talk to them. Last chance or one of them's getting kicked to the curb. Tons of kids need a job and I bet any one of them would gladly take the open spot."

"I say we put the 'help wanted' sign back up, start scouting for possible replacements," I suggested.

"What about giving Amanda another chance?" Anna replied.

"She has caused nothing but problems since we hired her," I muttered. "I'm done with the high school drama bullshit. She has one chance or she's fired."

"It's hot when you two take control," Damien teased.

"Shut up," Anna and I laughed.

"Aw, girls, your words wound me," Damien pouted, clasping his hands over his heart.

I shook my head moving to the other end of the counter to take a newcomers order. I heard Anna laugh and looked up in time to see Damien graciously accepting the hot cup of coffee with a smile and a wink. Rosie blushed before walking to the other side of the diner to take someone's order. We were movin with the efficiency that's only come from running the diner as long as we had. Anna, Tori, Kat, and I were in the zone, working as a well-oiled machine. At one point Anna went to the back to office to balance the books. I was in the front talking to the regular early diner crowd.

"Looks like the horde is here!" I announced to the rest of the girls.

Damien had left a few hours ago to get back to the shop, leaving us to our own devices. I glanced through the wide windows to see Chibs, Half-sack, Marco, Bobby, Tig, Opie, Piney, and Jax parking their bikes in a row.

"They hate it when you call them that," Anna laughed.

"Says the person who started calling them that in the first place," I retorted.

I smirked at her as they all trickled into the diner, taking all the stools at the front counter. I smiled in greeting looking them over. They seemed joyful and surprisingly normal despite the fact that the guns from the Blue Bird warehouse were missing, and the actual warehouse and been blown to kingdom come.

"Hey, Pops," Anna greeted giving her father a hug.

He smiled at her returning the embrace as he looked around. The Winston Patriarch was exactly like his children. At one time they had all shared the same dark chocolate brown hair and still shared the same jade-green eyes. Piney was a bear of a man, standing at six foot five. When my biological father was still alive and before Piney had gotten emphysema, he was the National Vice President. Although, his emphysema was now bad enough to keep him out of the more physical aspects of the Sons of Anarchy because he had to wear and oxygen mask. Piney now drove a trike (a three-wheeled motorcycle), that came with a holder to hold his oxygen tank. Even though his level of activity with the Sons had decreased; he was still an elder and that would always be important.

"Annie," Piney grinned. "How you girls doing?"

"We're fine," I shrugged. "Better question is how are you guys doing?"

"Izzy," Tig scolded.

"Sorry," I sighed.

The boys had a standing rule that most women were kept on a need-to-know basis. Where if something was important and necessary then we'd know. If it wasn't we were kept in the dark. Anna, Kat, Tori, Ma, and I were at a slightly more elevated level, where we were almost completely in the loop. But, there were only certain times where we would be told things. In the privacy of our homes, or the clubhouse. Not the diner where people could overhear things. It was more of precaution, really, because no one was stupid enough to cross the Sons of Anarchy by ratting out the mother charter.

"So what can we get you guys?" Anna asked after a moment.

I laughed when everyone threw their orders out at once. It was sometimes hard to believe that we had gotten all of the orders without having to ask anyone to repeat anything. Most of the time the boys always ended up having the same thing for lunch but they normally switched it up for dinner. Between all of them, they had to have sampled everything on the menu. Which was part of the reason why we changed the menu so much.

We put the orders in the window and Kat and Tori quickly got to work. With the sudden appearance of the majority of the Sons our other customers had finished up and quickly ducked out leaving us mostly alone. Granted the diner didn't normally get a lot of customers for dinner, most went back to home cooked meals. At least, the ones who had families to go back to.

"Order up," Kat announced bringing a few plates to the window.

Anna and I grabbed them and placing them in front of the right person. Kat and Tori came out of the back to serve the rest of the boys. I picked a few fries off of Jax's plate as I laughed at something Bobby said.

"Hey, Darlin', can I get a refill?" Chibs asked holding his glass up for me to take. I filled it up with coke before I gave it back to him.

"Thanks," Chibs grinned.

"No problem," I replied. "Hey Kip."

Half-sack was sitting next to his sponsor his wide blue eyes looking around the diner. The Crow was an average diner with booths, a counter with stools, and an average kitchen. The tiles were blue and the walls were a light crème color. The only thing out of the ordinary were the murals on nearly every wall. There was crows flying around all over the place, one of Happy's masterpieces, along with a giant Reaper mural, just like the one in my house. It was one of the spookier things we had but it was awesome. The little crystal ball actually looked like crystal and the reaper looked sinister.

"Hi," Half-sack grinned. "I'm sorry about flashing you yesterday, I wasn't thinking."

"Don't worry about it," I laughed. "I've seen a lot worse over the years. I guess it comes with this life."

"What do you mean?" Half-sack asked.

"I mean you should probably knock on the clubhouse's main door before you enter, or really any door in that clubhouse otherwise you might be scarred for life," I shook my head.

"It wasn't that bad," Juice muttered.

Half-sack looked between Juice and I in confusion before his eyes settled on me, obviously hoping for the story. I shook my head looking over at Juice with a hint of a smirk on my face, "It's your story, Juicy."

"The night I was patched in, I was entertaining a few crow eaters," Juice explained, glaring at me because I called him Juicy. "It wasn't that bad."

"Except that it was in public," I replied. "On the pool table."

"Oh," Half-sack grimaced.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"It was a beautiful, natural act," Juice retorted.

"Oi, shut it, ye Muppet," Chibs barked.

Juice laughed before going back to his pasta as I grinned at the men sitting in front of me. I walked into the back to get my cigarettes and lighter before I moved out of the back door. I lit up the cigarette, taking a healthy drag as I leaned against the wall. The night was calm, a cool breeze stirring up the air, causing the fine hairs on my bare arms to rise. It always amused me how quiet this town could get, how easily Charming could pretend it was like it's name. Only it's residents and select ATF agents knew the truth.


	3. Ignition

**Chapter Three: Ignition**

_"Forgiveness is never easy. Bitterness is easy, Hatred is easy. But forgiveness, that is a tough one. Sometimes people say things they don't mean or do things they can't take back. Sometimes we do things we can't take back. We're all afraid of something."_

11906 Sterling Terrance hadn't changed a bit, of course, Charming itself hadn't changed since the sixties, or at least that's what Mom said. I parked my car in the empty driveway and walked up the pathway to the front door. I knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

The door swung open revealing the only girlfriend who hadn't backed down when she was in Gemma Teller's sights. She stood in the doorway surprised, her hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

"Izzy," Tara greeted. "Wow. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Anna told me that you were back, I didn't quite believe her though," I stated, crossing my arms. "Why are you back?"

"Dad died two months ago, I finally got some time off," Tara shrugged. "I didn't realize it would cause such a scandal."

"Charming's a small town, sweet heart," I smirked. "Word gets around. Mostly because no one left here as explosively as you did."

"Is there a reason for this visit, Isabelle?" Tara sighed. "It's my day off. I don't want to fight."

"Does Jax know you're back yet?"

Tara's spine stiffened as she glowered at me. Well, that answered my question. I smirked triumphantly and Tara's look became even more frigid.

"Well aren't you Gemma junior," Tara hissed.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I am. You leaving destroyed my brother." I closed the distance between us so that we were standing nearly chest-to-chest. "And I'll be damned if he get's hurt because of you again."

"Jax is a big boy," Tara retorted. "I don't think he needs a child to fight his battles."

"I suggest you pack up this house and go back to wherever you came from," I suggested.

"You done?" Tara asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"You know, Izzy, I thought you were going to get out of here," Tara shook your head. "You're so much smarter than this town."

"I was raised to be loyal to my family, that's why I'm still here," I retorted.

"Tell yourself whatever you need to, sweetie," Tara sneered before she slammed the front door.

"Bitch," I mumbled.

I climbed back in my car and floored it over to the diner, skidding into my normal parking spot and storming through the back door. People stared at me wide-eyed as I went into the back office and slammed the door. Normally it was Anna who threw the fits, but I wasn't her best friend for nothing.

"What the hell happened to you, sunshine?" Anna questioned.

"Tara's such a bitch," I snarled.

"You went to see her," Anna sighed. "Iz-"

"Don't even start, Annie," I interrupted. "You remember what that bitch did to him."

I slumped in my desk chair with a deep sigh. At one time Tara and I had been close. Out of all my brother's girlfriends, Tara was the only one who got to know me. She actually wedged herself right into the middle of Sam Crow. It wasn't the easiest thing for an outsider to do but people could see how loyal she was to Jax and they immediately took to her. Then suddenly she wanted to leave and go all the way to San Diego. A few knockdown drag-'em-out fights with my brother later, she was gone. There was no way she wasn't just back to pack up the old house, it was something else, something bad enough to send Tara Knowles running home.

"Remember my mom's having dinner tomorrow night." I announced breaking the silence sometime later, once I finished the paperwork that the diner had fallen behind on.

"I wouldn't miss family dinner," Anna grinned. "Hopefully Ope can come too."

"You think Donna would go to?" I questioned.

"Donna hates the club," Anna shook her head. "She blames them for Opie being locked up. She's still pissed as hell."

"We should still invite her," I shrugged. "She is your sister-in-law and apart of the family even if she doesn't wanna be."

"She might be my sister-in-law but she's your friend," Anna huffed. "You talk to her."

It was obvious that the tension between the Winston women had yet to dissipate even with Opie being a free man. Anna had clashed with Donna a few times over club politics back when she and Ope first got married. But once Opie had gotten locked up those few spats turned into frequent events, more often than not leaving both in tears. Sometimes Anna and I were guilty of forgetting to look beyond the club. Things like lockdowns, guns, and jail stints were nothing new to us, but for women like Donna and Tara they were unheard of: shocking and jarring and terrifying.

Both Janice and Amanda came in for their shifts almost as soon as school was over. They changed into their uniforms in the bathroom and put their backpacks under the counter before taking their assigned tables. There was always a little surge of people once high school got out. Kids stopping in to get a snack or something along those lines before heading home.

"Girls, can we talk to you in the office for a minute?" Anna called once most of the kids had left.

They stopped what they were doing, following Anna and I into the office. I shut the door behind us to give a this conversation a little privacy.

"We heard about your little altercation, girls," I announced eyeing them both in exasperation.

"Altercation?" Amanda repeated before exclaiming. "She punched me in the face! Look at this, she gave me a black eye."

To add to her little tirade she even stomped her foot.

"You're comin to the wrong people for sympathy, sweet heart," Anna scoffed. "We've both had black eyes. S'not that bad."

"Not that we're saying it doesn't hurt," I shrugged. "Because it does, like a bitch. But compared to breakin something it's not that bad."

"We brought you both in here discuss your futures here at the Crow," Anna stated. "You two have done nothing but fight and argue-"

"It's really annoying," I interrupted. "We understand you don't like each other. But once it starts impacting our business it becomes our problem. This is strike two for both of you."

"One last chance," Anna clarified. "Don't make us regret it."

"Okay," Amanda nodded.

"I'm sorry you guys," Janice whispered.

Anna and I exchanged glances and I knew we had thought of the same thing. It wasn't Janice who was one step away from losing her job that was only Amanda. It didn't make sense for us to lose our best waitress, seniority and all that. Of course, we couldn't tell Janice this, she'd hold it over Amanda's head thereby accelerating her dismissal.

I was in the process of serving Mr. and Ms. James when the front door flew open. I carefully placed their meals on the table before I whirled around. Anna was behind the register, her hand on the gun that we kept there just to be safe. Instead of some unnamed threat, Marco stood in the threshold of the door, his chest heaving.

"Jesus Christ," Anna snapped. "Why did you throw open the door like that, Marco?"

"What is it?" I asked, my heart rate spiking as I tried to see if anything was wrong.

"Wendy," Marco gasped.

Her name was all Marco needed to say to have me throwing my apron off as I ran out the door, climbing onto his bike as we raced towards St. Thomas' hospital. Marco drove at break neck speed, weaving in and out of cars anything to get us there as fast as possible. He parked right by mom's car and we went into the hospital together. I saw the rest of the family down at the end of the hall and walked quickly to catch up with them.

"I found these matches right next to a bunch of her empty thumb bags," Mom growled. "Hairy dog."

"Selfish bitch," I snarled.

"It's gotta be the NORDS dealing out of the Dog again," Clay hissed.

"Darby got out of Chino two weeks ago," Bobby replied.

"Yeah?" Clay scoffed. "Well call that Nazi prick and set up a meeting."

The NORDS otherwise known as the Nordics were a white supremacist gang that dealt almost any type of drug. They were constantly attempting to sell in Charming. I knew without even glancing over towards my brother and stepfather that this fact did not sit well with them at all. I figured that Ernest Darby, the leader of the NORD's was a little slow, the SOA had dealt with him frequently over the years. The Sons were different from other MCs in that they didn't sell drugs, they also didn't condone the use or distribution. All the owners of every store in Charming had to pay a protection fee to Clay, but that fee not only guaranteed that their businesses would be safe, but that Charming would be. No drugs meant no drug fall-out.

Jax had to have been ten times angrier then everyone else because whether I liked it or not Wendy meant something to Jax. He always had a big heart, he never wanted to see her hurt or relapse. The neo-Nazi who had sold her crank wouldn't be in a good spot in a few hours. And neither would Wendy if I had anything to say about it.

Wendy and I had never gotten along, not even once. We hadn't ever seen eye-to-eye and it was always better to keep us away from one another.

I felt Marco at my back as the rest of us gathered around the receptionist. Suddenly the double doors opened as a doctor walked out. But this wasn't just any doctor, it was Tara. Even with her professional doctor veneer in place, she looked nervous staring at Jax, her gaze flitting quickly over to Mom and the others before settling back on my brothers. Jax, for his part seemed just as stunned, his posture becoming stiff. I could see Wendy on the bed in the room that Tara had just stepped out of.

"What the hell happened?" Jax growled.

"When's the last time you saw her?" Tara asked.

"Couple of weeks," Jax shrugged.

"Her hands and feet were full of tracks," Tara sighed. "Toxicology reports aren't back yet but it's most likely crank."

"The baby?" Jax whispered.

"We had to do an emergency C-section he's ten weeks pre-mature," Tara replied.

"Holy shit," Jax growled.

"Come on, let's sit down I'll walk you through it," Tara suggested.

"Just tell me," Jax ordered, harshly.

"He's got a congenital heart defect and a tear in his abdomen," Tara explained. "The gastro and the early birth are from the drugs. But the CHD…"

"The family flaw," Mom sighed.

"Yes, it's genetic," Tara nodded. "Neither one would be fatal but the two together…the doctor gives him a twenty percent chance. And I'm afraid that's being optimistic."

"Oh, my god," Mom whimpered.

"She didn't want to talk to me, I didn't know," Jax said.

"She missed her last three appointments no one knew," Tara soothed. "The Doctor would like to fix his belly first if he stabilizes he'll try to repair the heart. I'm so sorry, Jax. I can take you to see him now."

I watched the emotions cross Jax's face: anger, remorse, confusion, and concern. I felt suddenly helpless and I hated that feeling. All my life I had watched Jax, tried to be like him, looked up to him, and depended on him. Almost nothing shook him, but this did and I didn't know what to do. I reached out grabbing his shoulder. He looked back and grabbed my hand squeezing once before walking over to Tara.

"Tara!" Jax called. "You don't have to do this. I'm sure you have other patients."

"I asked if I could assist," Tara explained. "I want to help your son, Jax."

"His name is Abel," Jax smiled.

"It's a good name," Tara replied.

Jax didn't reply, instead he turned on his heel and began to walk down one of the hallways leading to the exit.

"Jax!" Tara called as Jax began to storm down the hallway. Crap.

Based on how straight his spine was and the clench of his jaw; there was only one place he could be going. Looked like it was that drug dealer's time to pay the piper.

"Jackson!" Mom shouted at the same time I called, "Jax!"

Frowning, I watched as Jax spun on his heel, fire in his eyes, "Go with Tara," Jax said looking right at Mom. His eyes moved to me, "You too."

"Watch his back," Clay murmured to Chibs, Marco, and Bobby.

I watched as Jax slammed open the doors into the sunny afternoon. The guys followed after Jax and I soon heard the telltale sound of motorcycles starting up and accelerating away.

"Come on, baby," Mom prodded. "We'll go wait in the waiting room."

I followed numbly after my mother sitting next to her as I looked around at my surroundings. It was like any other hospital, white walls, white tiles, and a strong antiseptic smell that never went away. There was also a small chapel with candles for people to light and a few pews to sit in. There was even a small stain glass window.

I felt so bad for Jax. He never wanted to be a father but I knew he would love that little baby the moment he saw him. I was so mad at Wendy for putting the baby at a twenty percent survival rate. For being so fucking selfish to actually use during her pregnancy. For blowing nearly two grand on rehab, only for it not to stick. It never stuck. I didn't have to worry too much either way Wendy would get hers; Ma would make sure of that. Mom protected her family and anyone else that fell under that category and she didn't care what she had to do to make sure they were safe.

It was hours until we heard anything about Abel. He had gone through the first surgery and he was still alive. I just hoped he could survive the other procedure as well. One of the nurses took us into see him. I never have seen something that little and despite all he had been through in his short life he seemed to be happy, staring up and Mom and I like he already knew who we were.

"He'll come around eventually," I whispered sitting down on the other chair.

"I know, baby," Mom replied. "The nurse told me that the doctor doesn't want to wait. They'll be doing the other surgery in a few minutes."

"Is that normal?" I asked.

"The first surgery is putting a strain on his system the doctor thinks it is in Abel's best interest," Mom explained. "Or at least that's what the girl told me."

"Jesus," I hissed. "That stupid junkie bitch."

"Don't worry, Izzy," Mom replied. "She'll get hers."

"Good," I smirked.

"He's going to pull through, baby," Mom soothed. "He's a Teller, we're strong."

"Or just stubborn enough to defy the odds."

"Which ever works," Mom grinned.

The doctors came to gather Abel for his second surgery sending my mother and I back into the waiting room. We were content to sit there and wait until one nurse with serious power tripping issues informed us that it was past visiting hours.

"Would it be possible to see one more patient?" Mom asked politely. "My daughter-in-law, Wendy Teller, is in ICU."

"Well, I guess that would be okay," The nurse responded slowly. "Go down to the receptionist's desk and she'll tell you what room she's in."

Five minutes later, Mom and I were in the ICU wing sliding into Wendy's room. I shut and locked the door behind me before I followed after my mother. Wendy looked up cautiously, her hair was dirty and greasy and she looked like if she could she'd bolt. Maybe the whore wasn't as brainless as I thought she was.

"Hi," Wendy said.

"Hey," Mom and I replied.

"Looks like the boy might actually see his first birthday," Mom announced, eyeing Wendy coldly.

"He made it?" Wendy gasped, hands fluttering to her mouth as her eyes welled with tears. "Oh, Abel, thank god."

"Yes, thank you god," Mom agreed.

I walked to the other side of the bed so that Mom and I were facing each other as we stared down at Wendy.

"Maybe we should say a little prayer," Mom suggested.

"Okay," Wendy agreed. "That'll be good."

Mom wheeled the little table that was over the hospital bed closer to Wendy as she laid on of her hands on the bible. She grasped Wendy's hand, sandwiching them between both of hers. I laid my own hand on top of my mother's. I recognized the glint in her eyes for what it was: vengeance was about to be handed down.

"Dear God, thank you for saving this boy from his murderous junkie mom. Who cared more about a forty-dollar rush than she did her own flesh and blood."

"Don't you dare," Wendy whispered.

"Don't I dare? You pathetic whore," Mom scoffed. She had the bible in her hand as she whirled around to get something from her bag. She called over her shoulder, "I guess the DA was impressed with your bible studies. I hear they're not going to press charges."

"When I check out of here I'm going to Promises," Wendy stated.

"Don't just throw money at those twelve step freaks," Mom sneered. "How long's it gonna last this time? Six months? Three? A couple of weeks?"

"It's gonna be different this time," Wendy vowed. "This time I got my baby to live for."

"That's where you're wrong," Mom snapped turning back around and approaching the bed. "You have no baby, you lost that privilege." I didn't flinch as Mom lunged wrapping one hand around Wendy's throat as her voice became low and menacing. "You so much as cast a shadow on that kid. Try some legal screw and get custody, I'll finish this job. He will never call you _Mommy_."

She let Wendy go; I watched as she coughed and spluttered, trying to get her breath back. Before she could, however, I found my own hand wrapped around her throat squeezing firmly as I leaned close to her face.

"It would be in your best interest to get out of Charming the second you're released," I hissed. "Bad things tend to happen to stupid junkies."

"I suggest you turn to Jesus," Mom said, throwing the bible at Wendy. I saw that there was something hidden between the pages of the Holy Book. "Come on, Izzy."

I followed her out of the hospital and into the parking lot. She paused near her car and turned around to look at me.

"You did good today, baby," Mom praised, "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom," I smiled.

She pulled me into her arms hugging me firmly. This day had been a long one. Between Tara and my fight, and Abel's premature birth things were chaotic. Only being dulled y the fact that he had survived both surgeries, hopefully there would be no lasting damage from the drugs or the CHD. It was also relieving to know that Wendy had gotten her just deserts, if I knew my mother, she had slipped a needle full of crank into that bible.

"I still want to have that dinner," Mom said as she pulled away and opened her car door. "Maybe tomorrow or the day after?"

"Sure, Ma, you know I'll help you set things up," I said.

"Thanks, Iz," Mom grinned, "get home safe,"

"You too."

I drove quickly through the quiet streets of Charming, already planning on having some tea, maybe watching some mindless reality TV before calling it a night. I pulled into the driveway and grabbed my purse as I turned off my car. As I walked up the pathway to my front door I realized that my bedroom light was on. A light that I was one hundred percent sure I had turned off.

"Jesus Christ," I hissed aloud, jogging back to my car and pulling out the .357 I had stashed in the hidden compartment.

I thumbed off the safety as I quietly unlocked the door. I snuck through the house, glancing into each room finding each one empty. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and whirled around before sighing.

"Really?" I demanded, flicking the safety back on as I dropped the arm holding the gun to my side. "You know what Jax and Clay said. I don't want you risking your top rocker on me."

"I'm pretty sure they'd understand," Marco replied. "Today's been a mess…"

"You're bleeding," I gasped. "What happened?"

"That warehouse that blew up?" Marco explained. "Mayans hit us, stole our guns. Tonight we found one of Alvarez's dummy-corps, returned the favor."

"Okay," I prodded.

"Yeah, but Bobby's in Tahoe, and one of Ope's kids got hurt so Jax was improvising when the night watchmen showed up. Only they weren't Mayans, they were NORDS. There was a small shoot-out. They got my vest but I fell down, cut my leg wide open."

"Jesus," I mumbled.

"I'm okay, Izzy," Marco soothed.

"I have to call Opie," I sighed. "I hope Ellie and Kenny are okay."

"If we haven't heard anything, they're okay," Marco shrugged. "No news is good news, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Let me get the first aid kit."

"Izzy," Marco complained.

"Hey, you're bleedin' all over my floor," I teased. "Blood stains are a bitch to get out."

Without waitin for another response, I walked into the nearest bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit from the bottom drawer. I walked back outside to find that Marco had moved into the kitchen, judging by the small blood drips leading straight to it.

I opened the first aid box and pulled out some gauze and hydrogen peroxide. Luckily the wound wasn't as deep as it looked, it was just bleeding a lot. I quickly cleaned and dressed the wound before I put the first aid kit back, and then grabbed one of his sweatpants and Sam Crow tee shirt, that he had taken to leaving at my house.

"Here change into these and I'll wash your other clothes," I ordered.

"Thanks, baby," Marco smiled.

I walked over and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator as Marco changed his clothes, leaving the dirty and bloody ones in a pile. I scooped them up and handed him the water before walking down the hallway and into the mudroom. I tossed it into the washer along with some detergent and fabric softener before allowing the cycle to start.

"Everything okay, Iz?" Marco whispered, leaning against the threshold of the door.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Abel pulled through his surgeries."

"That's great," Marco grinned. "Does Jax know?"

"Mom called him," I answered. "I hope he went by to see him."

Marco reached over and grabbed my hand pulling me into his chest. I sighed and burrowed closer, happy that he was here. I wondered vaguely if Jax or Clay had sent him in this direction. After the day we had, yesterday's events seemed trivial by comparison. With an arm still thrown over my shoulders, we made our way into the bedroom. I shut the door behind us before changing into a nightshirt and climbing into bed.


	4. Lip Service

**Chapter Four: Lip Service**

_"By the pricking of my thumbs __something wicked this way comes."_

Most people thought that the Sons of Anarchy and those associated with them were criminals; menaces to society. While there was some truth to that, what we weren't was chaotic. The truth was that the motorcycle world had more rules and regulation that society. There was a way that you carried yourself and how you had to remember that every move you made would have consequences: some planned, some not so much.

With the title of National President those consequences fell at Clay's feet. Whether or not someone in his charge acted out of turn it reflected on him. When I was younger, I didn't realize as much. I knew that we all had to be careful but I thought that Anna, Marco, and the rest of the kids were allowed to be kids. I got into a lot of fights in school because I defended my family. It had been ingrained in me that come hell or high water, family comes first…always. And I'd fight tooth and nail to defend them. If a classmate said something negative about them in front of me, I'd punch them in the face. Then I'd get suspended. After countless suspension in middle school, Clay got on my case.

_"Everything you do has consequences, Isabelle," Clay growled, after picking me up from the Principal's office. "And every time something like this happens it reflects negatively on me."_

_"I was defending our family," I protested._

_Clay's grip tightened on my arm, a warning, as he responded, "I know what you were doing, baby. But, what you gotta understand is when you get into fights like this, we get noticed. If people who don't like us saw this, they'd attack us."_

_"What?" I gasped. "Why?"_

_"Because they'll think that if I can't control my thirteen year old daughter then they can do whatever they want," Clay stated. "They'll attack us because we look weak. You gotta be smart, Izzy."_

Of course there were a few more scrapes between classmates and a few hours spent in the Charming Police department but Clay's point had been firmly placed in my head. Now I realized how our every move was analyzed. That even the children of Sam Crow were watched, people were waiting for us to mess up. Not only by ATF agents when we were thrown into their crosshairs but by the civilians of Charming. It wasn't so much that people weren't respectful to us; it was just that it fell flat. They were respectful because they didn't want to deal with the fallout. Their respect was hollow…empty. They were the people who were waiting for us to stumble, for something bad to happen. Even when something happened that was through no fault of ours, we were blamed.

Most of the time people seemed appreciative of what the Sons did for Charming. But the second something went wrong every flipped the script. Jax, Clay, and the rest of the guys didn't understand why I let something like that bother me. I didn't really know either; all I knew was that those guys were my family. In my eyes they were heroes, good people. Not criminals, extortionists, gunrunners, or murderers. I wasn't naïve, however, I knew that's what they did but I didn't think they deserved to be defined by it.

If the people who thought the worst of the men I proudly called my family, they should be a fly on the wall whenever Ma was able to throw a family dinner together. It normally happened at least twice a month. They would still wear their cuts but under that tough veneer you could see the family men they all were. Under everything that the MC was and turned into in the very heart of everything was family, loyalty.

Being in the kitchen with my mother, Luann Delany, Big Otto's wife, Bobby's current wife Vivian, Anna, Kat, and Tori was something I always looked forward to. It was one of the times where all the women of the club could talk and joke around.

We were prepping for dinner; Vivian was making the macaroni salad. Anna was making the regular salad. Luann was chopping up carrots for the salad, Mom was making the mashed potatoes and the corn, and I was finishing up the pot roast. As we were all putting the finishing touches on dinner, Mom lit up a joint, inhaling deeply before passing it off.

As things were being wrapped up the atmosphere in the kitchen became even nicer. Jokes and small jabs were exchanged as we all shared the weed. Luann was in the middle of tellin a story that verged a little on things one didn't really need to know and amusing. One thing was for sure; working in Porn was a more interesting job than most. All the girls straightened up when we heard the motorcycles roaring down the block. We all moved quickly putting serving trays on the table. Tori brought out enough Miller for everyone and I set the table.

"Look at this," Clay grinned, coming in first giving all the women assembled a kiss on the cheek. He then kissed Ma full on the mouth. "You all have outdone yourselves."

"Smells great," Tig smiled.

"Sammy, Jimmy, dinner time," Vivian called.

Bobby's two youngest boys came flying out from the living room taking the seats next to their mother. The Munson brood was a fairly big one since Bobby had his fair share of wives. All of which had since been divorced, Vivian was number 4. So, far she was so much calmer than his last squeeze, Precious. Let's just say that Precious' parent's had a wicked sense of humor because that woman was many things but precious wasn't one of them. I always thought she was vindictive and seemed to have a problem with every single person she met.

Dinner was nice, conversation and laughter flowed as people passed food around. We had cooked enough food to feed an army but with all the guys here, almost every last morsel was eaten. Once everyone had their fill, the guys went into the living room to smoke while all the women cleaned up. I brought out the German Chocolate Cake that Bobby made out to the living room, telling them to save us some before walking back to the kitchen.

After every one had a slice of cake and a cup of coffee, people began to call it a night. I stayed behind to help my mom finish cleaning up. When the last dish had been dried off I kissed my parent's goodnight. I climbed into my car, carefully backing out of my parent's hill of a driveway before going in the direction of home.

There were certain things that happened every year in Charming. The first of which was Fun town and the second was a Taste of Charming. Both events had one thing in common; the proceeds went to something important in the community. Fun Town was a split between St. Thomas and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Taste of Charming was an event geared completely to the schools and mom and all the other old ladies ran it.

"Come on, Iz, let's go!" Anna called after the front door had opened.

"I'm ready," I smiled. "You driving or am I?"

"You drive," Anna shrugged.

We grabbed our bags and I locked up before sliding into driver's seat. I pulled out of the driveway and went straight towards the fair grounds. One of the many perks of being associated with the Sons of Anarchy was that people tended to avoid the motorcycles, knowing there would be hell to pay if one were to be wrecked. So, we got a pretty good spot in the giant parking lot. I hit the power locks on my car as Anna and I wandered onto the fair grounds. All the familiar rides and food booths seemed to be accounted for.

I always loved Fun Town, it was just a festive atmosphere and people were just happy to take a break from the average day. Kids were running everywhere, hitting up the prize booths, rides, and junk food. I smiled at Kenny and Ellie Winston who ran to give us a quick hug before running off again.

"Wanna get a caramel apple?" Anna asked.

"Sure," I smirked.

We waited in line for a few minutes until we were rewarded with our caramel apples. I took a healthy bite as we began walking in a random direction. I smiled when I saw Jax, Tig, Clay, and Mom. They hadn't spotted us yet, walking together smiling and laughing. Suddenly Clay flung Mom over one shoulder tapping her on the ass.

"Oswalds," Anna warned. "Twelve o'clock."

I glanced up and we both stopped, watching as Eliot Oswald and his wife Karen exchanged what seemed like polite conversation before walking off. It wasn't a secret that the Oswald's as well as the Hale's detested SOA's influence on Charming. Both families had been in Charming long before Sam Crow had taken up roots and they didn't seem to like to share. Clay and mom seemed to be enjoying their own company so Anna and I moved to intercept Tig and Jax instead.

"Hey," Jax greeted kissing Anna and I on the forehead.

"Hi Jax," I smiled before moving to give Tig a hug. "Hey Tig."

"How you doin', darlin?"

"Can't complain," I shrugged.

Tig nodded as we began walking all together. I barely had time to protest as Jax threw an arm over my shoulders and snagged the apple out of my hand, taking a huge bite.

"Jax," I whined, thumping his chest.

"Play nice, kids," Tig teased.

Jax turned to glare at him and I took the lapse in attention to steal my apple back. When I spun around I saw that Bobby was walking towards us, snacking on cotton candy. I kissed him on the cheek. We walked began walking around, scouting out rides and prize booths. There was a dunk tank, where someone dressed as a clown was hurling insults at the people trying to dunk him.

"Your Daddy throws like your Mommy," The clown laughed. "Does he wear a bra and panties to your games? Aw, come on, where're you going? Five more bucks and your son'll be convinced you're a loser."

Suddenly I felt things tense and glanced around at the guys. Gone were the carefree smiles and in it's place were the tough guy, badass faces. I then noticed the way they seemed to close in around Anna and I making it difficult to see what was going on.

"Darby's guys?" Bobby asked, lowly.

"Don't recognize them," Jax shrugged.

I casually turned to look over my shoulder spotting the typical swastikas and baldheads that identified the Nordics. I guess that was the downside to this event being open for everyone.

"Ooh, look at the big bad bikers," The clown taunted. "Come to get clowny all wet, huh?"

Jax handed over some tickets and accepted the bright yellow balls from a woman in a cowboy hat.

"Hey, you guys, you got this, let's go!" Kevin 'Dog' Peterson, one of the mechanics at TM cheered. I turned around and waved at him. He was a tall guy, loyal to the club but had never made any attempt to prospect. A move that the guys respected him for because they knew they could count on him…trust him.

"Come on, Jax," Bobby whispered. "Come on."

"Come on, Jaxie," Tig cheered.

He missed with the first ball causing the clown to smirk, "Aw, what's the matter, tough guy? Can't put the little ball in the tight hole? Bet all your leather wearing butt buddies say the same thing."

"Oh, really?" Jax sneered.

"Oh, no," Tig scolded. "That's a buzzer no-no."

"No, wait," The clown backpedaled sensing his mistake. "I was just jok-"

The three moved closer surrounding the clown as Anna and I watched. Tig pushed the buzzer, sending the clown into the water while Jax climbed on top of the booth, shoving the trash-talking clown under water. He came spluttering to the surface only for Bobby to shove him back under.

"What a moron," I shook my head.

"There's always one," Anna mused. "Asshole deserves it."

Other people had stopped to watch the spectacle, after all it wasn't often that one of the Sons were referred to as leather wearing butt buddies. A small smirk crossed my face; it was actually pretty funny. However, that kind of disrespect would never be ignored. Tig, Jax, and Bobby eventually turned around satisfied smiles on their faces as they made their way back to us. I noticed Juice running over to us, from the other side of the lot, the knife he wore at his waist bouncing against his hip with every stride. He skidded to a stop near us and panted for a moment.

"Hey, Juice," Anna smiled. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Juice responded. "But, I could really go for some _Lucky Charms_ right now."

"That sounds great," Bobby said. "Why don't we go get some?"

"We'll see you girls later," Tig said, hugging both of us.

"Bye darlin'," Jax smiled at each of us.

"Bye guys," Anna and I said.

"You know, I really like their code names for things," Anna laughed. "Although, I want Lucky Charms now."

I chuckled loudly as we began to walk towards off in a random direction. Lucky Charms was the code word for whenever the Irish were stateside. The reason for the code words was because the Irish supplied the guns we sold. And they weren't Irish civilians, either. They were True IRA, considered terrorists by our government. Michael McKeavy was on dozens of federal watch lists, but he was a friend of the club. He had known Clay and Piney for years and had once been a good friend of my dad's. He was a good man. He was quiet but fierce when it came to the cause. McKeavy was also completely loyal to both the True IRA and the SOA. Although the IRA would always come first, mostly because if someone crossed the IRA they'd cut off the person's head with a razor wire.

"Wanna go on the tilt-a-whirl?" Anna asked.

"Sure," I agreed.

Anna and I spent our time going from ride to ride and then went to win a few prizes. I got a giant teddy bar that I could barely see over as I carried it around with me. I loved carnivals and Fun Town was no exception. The day had flown by, it was already nighttime, the fair grounds were now only lit with the giant portable floodlights.

"Tristen!"

My head swiveled in the direction of the desperate shout. Of course, the downside of a event this big was kids went missing all the time. Playing with friends and hiding in the crowd, scaring the crap out of their parents. I saw in the distance that Oswald's old lady was running around, talking to ride attendants and asking random bystanders. Normally the kids that went missing were younger kids, around Kenny and Ellie's age. Tristen Oswald was thirteen but a mother knows when something is wrong. And the scared, frantic look on Karen's face was agonizing.

"Have you girl's seen Tristen?" Karen asked.

"No," I said.

"We can help you look for her, though," Anna offered.

"Thank you so much," Karen replied. "Gemma is helping too."

"We'll find her, Ms. Oswald," I promised.

"She was supposed to wait by the Scrambler but the attendant told me she walked off," Karen whispered. "But, Tristen wouldn't do that!"

"Izzy and I will go that way," Anna stated pointing towards the back of the fairground close to the woods.

"Okay," Karen whispered. "Thank you."

Anna and I walked off in the direction we pointed out looking for the small statured girl. As we walked closer and closer to the woods, I couldn't help but get a bad feeling.

"Tristen?" Anna shouted. "Tristen, where are you?"

My hair stood on end as we moved into the woods together. I had been taught to never ignore my instincts but things like kidnapping and other things like that almost never happened in Charming, it was almost unheard of.

"You hear that?" Anna whispered.

I paused in my movements and concentrated on hearing something other than the chirping off crickets. A few moments later I heard rustling and what sounded like whimpering. Oh crap.

"Tristen!" I shouted.

"Help." It was a whisper, something I could've easily imagined hearing but I moved closer to the rustling noises regardless.

"Tristen?" Anna called.

_"Help me, please!"_ Tristen cried.

This time the plea was a shout, a shout of desperation. We moved into a small clearing I saw her. She was frighteningly pale, blood all over her face and the worst part was that her pants and panties were hanging off one leg.

"Oh, no, Tristen," Anna whispered.

Her voice was calm and soothing as she dropped down next to the young girl. The latter of whom flung herself into Anna's arms sobbing. Anna looked up at me and I nodded my head and grabbed my cell phone dialing one of the speed dials.

"Did you find her?" Mom demanded.

"Yeah," I said before swallowing the lump in my throat. "Mom, it's bad. I think she's been raped."

"Oh, my god," Mom whispered. "I'll call the police. Don't let her out of your sight."

I walked over to my friend and Tristen, dropping to my knees and beginning to rub the young girl's back. We didn't ask her what happened, honestly, all the signs pointed to rape. And we didn't want to risk upsetting her further. She was already midway through a panic attack; we didn't want to trigger another by making her spill the details.

We heard another rustling sound in the woods and I rose to my feet, hands on the hilt of the knife I always carried. It wasn't a threat though it was Karen and Mom and the older women looked like they had been struck.

"Tristen!" Karen gaped, flying from mom's side and over to her daughter.

Sirens filled the air and almost instantly EMTs were surrounding us. Asking Anna, Mom, and I questions before taking Karen and Tristen into the ambulance. When we were finally alone, Anna, Mom, and I began to walk to the parking lot. Silence: tense and anxious filled the air.

"We have to tell the boys," Mom said.

"Not tonight," Anna said. "McKeavy's in town."

"Gotta tell them tonight," Mom argued. "Or they'll hear about it around town tomorrow."

"Which would probably be worse," I mused.

"Yeah," Mom agreed before ordering. "You girls go straight home and lock your doors. Who knows what this guy is capable of?"

"You be careful too," I responded.

"I will," Mom stated.

She kissed Anna and I on our cheeks before sliding into her car. I pulled out my car keys and unlocked the doors. I made sure to look in the back seat as I slid into driver's seat. I drove quickly through the side streets, dropping Anna off, watching to make sure she got into her house okay before I turned around, driving back to my house.

I chose not to park in my driveway instead I pulled into my garage, shutting the door as soon as I stopped the car. I took a deep breathe before sliding out of the car and moving through the mudroom. I dropped my bag and giant teddy bear on the couch as I continued moving towards the kitchen, grabbing a beer and taking a healthy swig.

I turned on the TV, about to collapse into my comfortable house when I heard a motorcycles. They really had impeccable timing, my boys did. I shook my head as I began to walk over to the front door. Just as I got to the door someone knocked. Glancing through the peephole I saw that it was Jax.

"Hey," I greeted, swinging the front door open wide so he could come in.

"You okay, Darlin?" Jax asked.

"You've heard?" It was more a statement of fact than a question but I knew by the tense feelings rolling off my brother in waves that he had in fact heard the news.

"Yeah, Ma just stopped by TM," Jax shrugged. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the one who got raped tonight," I whispered. "She's thirteen, Jax. She's only thirteen."

"I know," Jax growled. He pulled me into his side as he shut the front door, leading me into the living room. "We're gonna find this asshole, Iz, I promise."

"You make him pay, Jax," I replied.

"Don't you worry about that, Darlin'," Jax vowed. "Bastard's gonna rue the day he ever stepped foot in Charming."

I nodded my head in agreement as we both sat down on the couch. I was curled into Jax's side, his arm over my shoulders. It was quiet as we watched TV. I didn't even argue when he snagged the beer bottle from my hand.

"Abel's going to be okay," I whispered.

"He's a strong kid," Jax grinned.

"I heard that Wendy waved her parental rights," I stated, glancing up him.

"Yeah," Jax said. "She also had an overdose. The hospital's taking her through sedated detox."

"That's a shame," I mumbled.

"You wouldn't know anything about that particular incident, would you, Iz?" Jax questioned.

"Of course not," I scoffed.

"The hospital says that one of Wendy's friends smuggled in the crank," Jax sighed.

"She's had a drug problem for a while," I pointed out. "It was bound to happen eventually. At least she was in the hospital when she overdosed. That was probably what saved her life."

"Yeah," Jax mused.

I knew that even with my denial that Jax probably figured that I had something to do with Wendy's overdose. Granted, he was sorta right. I had been there but Mom was the one who gave her the vial and it was probably enough crank to kill her. The damn night nurse must've come in at the exact right moment. Damn skank.

"I really don't get why you hate her so much," Jax stated as I moved into the kitchen.

"It's nothing, Jax," I responded. "Besides you guys are almost divorced."

"You always do that," Jax frowned.

I heard the couch creak as he rose to his feet, following me into the kitchen. I couldn't ask him what he was referring to because he had beat me to it by pitching his voice high, mimicking me, "_Jax, you guys are on a break. Jax, you guys are getting divorced. Jax, it doesn't matter whether or not I like the cumrag, you're the one that married her."_

"Real mature, Jackass," I muttered. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me why you don't like her," Jax retorted. "It's not because Mom doesn't so what is it?"

"You went from Tara to her, Jax," I mumbled. "I always liked Tara and you wanna know why? Because she never treated me like a kid or just some bitch who happened to be your sister. She got to know me because she wanted too, not as another way to hook you in. Wendy was the exact opposite. She's a bitch who thinks she's worthy of respect just because the VP fucked her."

"Did you ever really give her a chance?"

"Jax, you act like Wendy just suddenly appeared," I shook my head. "She skulked around for years before she had an opening. I don't need to know how she got to you, nor do I really want to. All I know is that bitch is one of the ones who thinks she knows everything about this world but she doesn't know how to show respect."

"You punched her the first time I brought her to a family dinner," Jax rolled his eyes. I smirked at him and muffled a laugh. Jax frowned at me but I ignored him pulling out two more beers from the fridge.

**_June 23, 2000_**

_"Izzy, can you come down here, please?" Mom called up the stairs. "I need your help with dinner."_

_"Ma, I have homework," I protested, leaning over the balcony overlooking the ground floor._

_"Don't try that, Darlin', it's Friday," Mom rolled her eyes. "Now come help with dinner, the boys will be here soon, and they'll be hungry."_

_Seeing that I wouldn't be winning this argument, I shut my bedroom door walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. There were vegetables waiting on one of the cutting boards and I knew that was mom wanted me to do. I grabbed a knife from the block and began chopping up the onions, peppers, carrots, celery, and squash. When finished chopping all the vegetables I moved on to help cook the tomato sauce while Mom went outside to the backyard to start grilling the steaks. It was the normal family dinner feast, Mom tried to have one a few times a month at least. It was one of the ways that would keep everyone tight. And it seemed to work._

_"Hello, baby," Clay greeted._

_"Hey, dad," I smiled kissing him on the cheek as he walked into the kitchen._

_I really had to start paying more attention if I could miss the blaring engines of a pack of Harley's. I looked behind him to see that all the usual suspects were slowly filtering in. Tig, Bobby, Big Otto, Piney, Opie greeted me with waves before walking into the living room. Wally Grazer and his twin daughters: Tiffany and Emerson came into the door next. Tiff and Em walked in the kitchen; giving me a hug before assembling the salads and various over side dishes that hadn't been finished yet. Chico and Marco were the next ones to walk in with Anna at their heels. Anna gave Chico a kiss on the cheek before she joined us all the in the kitchen._

_"Where's Kat and Tori?" Anna asked._

_"Tacoma," Em explained. "They went up with their dads for a charity run."_

_"Oh," I shrugged._

_"Why's a croweater here?" Tiffany asked._

_"Hey, Izzy, come here!" Jax called from the foyer._

_I exchanged glances with the girls before walking towards Jax and the girl hanging off his arm. I recognized her from some of the after church parties. I stopped in front of Jax accepting his hug then rocking backward to stare at the croweater. Ma had made it very clear that family dinners were for family only._

_"Wendy, I'd like you to meet my little sister, Izzy," Jax introduced. "Iz, this is Wendy, my girlfriend."_

_"Seriously?" I asked._

_"Izzy," Jax rebuked sternly._

_I wrinkled my nose before I put on my best hostess front holding out my hand. "Nice to meet you Wendy, Jax has told me so many wonderful things."_

_"You too," Wendy muttered shaking my hand for a second before dropping it and looking away from me. _

_Had I really just been disrespected by a croweater in my own house? Both Jax and Wendy missed my glare as Jax whispered something about her helping us girls with the food as he walked off to greet the guys._

_"What are you staring at?" Wendy sneered. "Shouldn't you go back in the kitchen? I'm sure there's a lot to do."_

_"You might be my brother's flavor of the week," I hissed leaning close to her. "But don't think I won't kick your ass because you have him snowed."_

_"How old are you?" Wendy scoffed. "Twelve?"_

_"Sixteen, you stupid whore," I snapped._

_Wendy moved quicker than I would have anticipated her moving as she grabbed my arm, slamming me against the wall._

_"I don't care how old you are, little girl," Wendy retorted. "You'll respect me. I'm your brother's girlfriend now."_

_"Let me go," I said coldly._

_"Or you'll what?" Wendy taunted. "Cry?"_

_"I was thinking more along the lines of this…"_

_Wendy's grip had loosened on my arm, enabling me to slip it out of her hold and punch her dead in the face. I heard the wet snap of bones and knew by the gush of blood that I had broken her nose. I grinned when she stumbled back with a wail, holding her nose and squealing. Blood was pouring through her fingers and down her arms. I rolled my eyes walking back into the kitchen before one of the boy could investigate what the squeals were._

_"Shit," was all Anna said smiling widely. "Good punch, bitch."_

I handed Jax one of the beers, twisting off the cap and taking a swig then I shrugged, "I stand by what I said. Bitch was asking for it."

"Did you really have to break her nose?" Jax asked.

"No one told her to try and grab me," I retorted. "You should've been happy, I showed Wendy her place."

Jax chose not to answer; instead he took a gulp of beer before moving around me. He opened the fridge, glancing inside. He grabbed a piece of pie and then walked to the breakfast nook, taking a seat.

"You staying the night?" I asked.

"You mind?" Jax responded.

"Nope," I shrugged. "Figured someone would end up stopping by. Who went over to Annie's?"

"Half-sack," Jax said.

"I'll see you in the morning, Jax," I said, dropping my bottle in the sink before kissing him on the cheek. "You know where the guestroom is, the bed's already made up."

"Thanks, Darlin'," Jax smiled. "G'night."

"Night."

I shut my bedroom door behind me, changing into my nightshirt. I frowned as I slid into my bed, my mind racing. A girl had gotten raped in Charming. It was mind blowing, completely unprecedented. And it happened to one of the founding families. I felt so bad for Tristen and for her Mom and Dad. No one knew more than the SOA how much this town gossiped, and now a thirteen year old was about to be exposed to all that. It was awful.

The next morning came quickly, far too quickly. I yawned and stretched glancing idly at my phone for any missed messages. When I found none, I moved into the bathroom, turning on the shower; stepping under the hot water with a sigh. I quickly washed my hair and my body before stepping out of the warmth. I wrapped a fluffy towel around my body and used another to get some of the excess water out.

I changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a black graphic tee shirt. I grabbed my leather boots, stepping into them and zipping them up before I moved out of my room. The door to the guest bedroom was open, and judging by the smell of coffee, Jax was already awake. Apparently I had missed him completely. I noticed a index card propped up by a coffee cup and picked it up, reading it as I poured myself a cup of coffee. The letter said the same things that the boys had been telling me my entire life. Be careful, try not to go anywhere alone, and at least carry your knives with you. This rape had shaken them up, that much was obvious. I washed the dishes after I finished my coffee. Glancing at the clock I saw that I should've been over at the diner an hour ago.

I cut through the mudroom and into the garage, hitting the open button for the garage door before sliding into my car. I maneuvered it out of the garage, shutting it once I was clear. I then took a sharp left making my way to main street. It looked like a normal day and as I parked my car, stepping out of it and walking into the diner it felt like it too. Which was so wrong. This wasn't a normal day. The atmosphere in the diner was tense and judgmental. The whispered conversations were heated and cruel. There were barely veiled looks at the girls and I. Whenever a motorcycle drove by there were glares and sneers.

I should've seen this coming. Whenever something went wrong people immediately blamed the Sons. It was something you could set your watch by. The townspeople didn't really know the SOA. They saw the things on the surface with the skanks, and the leather, and just the vibe the boys gave off. Where they were dangerous, to be avoided feared even. But, that wasn't true. None of them would ever rape a woman, especially not a child. They were no doubt looking for the bastard now.

"I bet it was that Trager person," Danielle Scott whispered to her daughter Charlotte. "He always gave me the creeps."

"Shut up," I hissed. "Alex Trager is a better person that you will ever be. This is a Sam Crow diner, sweetheart; you don't have anything nice to say you can kindly fuck off. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out."

Mrs. Scott along with her cunt of a daughter blushed scarlet before they grabbed their belongings, flouncing out of the diner. People had watched the scene and quickly turned back to their meals as I turned around with a dark look.

"Rose, can you clean the table?" I ordered as I moved back behind the counter.

I stood next to Anna who was looking at me with an amused expression.

"What?" I groused.

"You do know that your little diatribe is gonna be all over town within the hour," Anna grinned. "Bitch deserved it, though."

"Yes, she did," I smirked. "Stupid old bat."

The diner seemed to settle after that as the regulars came and went. It seemed a little odd that Sam Crow hadn't placed their usual order. I shook my head as moved down the counter cleaning it off. Suddenly, I heard laughter and looked out of the window.

"Oh, my god," I laughed. "Annie, look at this!"

"What?" Anna asked before laughing herself. "Jesus Christ."

I hopped off the counter and walked outside, "Kip!" I called. Glancing at the club's newest prospect. He was riding a mini-bike; his knees were nearly to his shoulders as he rocked awkwardly as he rode down the street before he stopped the bike hard when he heard my voice.

"Hey, Izzy," Half-sack smiled.

"What are you doing?" I asked walking closer to him.

"Hale's questioning all the guys who were at Fun Town," Half-Sack stated. "Since I didn't go, Jax told me to follow wherever Hale goes."

"You better go then," I said. "Wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

"Hey, Iz?" Half-sack called as I turned away. When I turned around he continued, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," I prompted.

"Why do the guys always ask if you're tired?" Half-sack asked. "I've heard them all ask at one point or another."

"I had night terrors as a kid," I explained. "And with my Panic Disorder, I tend to lose sleep if I get freaked. I normally only get four or five hours of sleep a night, sometimes less, sometimes more, it just depends."

"Oh," Half-sack whispered. His eyes widening in shock. I guess that wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Kip," I soothed. "Shit just happens."

He looked like he wanted to ask more questions but refrained, starting up the mini bike. With a departing wave the prospect flew down the street heading towards the fair grounds. That explained why Sam Crow hadn't placed their order. I glanced up and down the street before walking back into the diner.

"So, what's the story?" Anna asked.

"The boys are tied up so they sent the prospect," I shrugged.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Anna smirked.

"Yeah," I smirked. "I think I'm gonna go see Abel."

"I think I can manage without you," Anna replied. "Go see your nephew."

I hugged Anna and then walked into the back office to grab my purse and keys. Hopping into my car I gunned the engine, rocketing towards St. Thomas. Once I had parked my car, I moved through the main lobby headin towards NICU. I realized that Tristen must be here somewhere. I frowned that poor girl that should've never happened.

"Hey, baby," Mom greeted as I walked into Abel's room.

He seemed so much more active, his little legs and arms moving. It was so nice to see how Abel seemed to be improving daily. Although, Tara had told us that it would be at least a month or two before Abel could be released from NICU. I kissed mom on the cheek and then sunk into the other chair on the other side of Abel's incubator.

"Wendy's outta detox," Mom announced. "Apparently her and Tara are talking."

"You know Tara's just doing that to get to you," I rolled my eyes.

"I want to know what that stupid bitch is even doing back here," Mom fumed. "After everything she said, what she did to our family, why would she ever come back?"

"I don't know, Ma," I muttered. "She knows that she screwed over the wrong people."

"All the more reason for her not to come back," Mom responded.

"There has to be some reason we're not seeing here," I rationalized. "Maybe I could convince Juice to put in a call to our boys in Chicago?"

A few years ago, I remember a call coming in from Lance Lombardo, the Chicago Chapter's Intelligence Officer. I had been at the clubhouse and had answered the phone. Apparently Lambo, Lance's nickname, had gotten the information that Jax has asked for. Jax had been keeping tabs on his former flame. He knew where she went to school, where she did her hospital internships before she landed in a very well known Chicago hospital. That was all the boys had gotten on Tara Knowles. I always figured that Jax just wanted to know what happened, but maybe, he had been keeping tabs on her all this time. It was an idea that I wouldn't share with Mom, as far as she was concerned, Tara was dead and gone.

"I was going to ask Luann to use that PI of hers," Mom shrugged.

"If we use both, we'd probably find even more information," I suggested.

A tap on the glass halted any further conversation as we both glanced towards the hallway. Jax was standing there offering a wave when he got both mom and my attention.

"Hey," Jax greeted as both Mom and I stepped out of the room.

"I thought you guys were on the hunt," Mom said.

"Hit a dead-end," Jax frowned.

"Junkie's awake," Mom announced after a moment.

"Don't call her that," Jax reproached.

Mom and I scoffed before I said, "Maybe cumrag is a better term? Crank whore, perhaps?"

"Izzy," Jax warned, his voice cold and steely.

I really didn't know why Jax insisted on defending her. It really didn't matter that they had been married. He cheated on her and she cheated on him. It was the unhealthiest relationship I had ever seen in my life. But, for some reason, Jax never tolerated anyone saying anything bad about her, not even when she deserved it.

"Okay," I mumbled. Then Mom and I both said, "Sorry."

It was quiet for a moment as we all shifted around, Jax turned around looking through the glass at Abel, "You think he can really hear you?"

"Yeah, I do," Mom nodded.

I guess Jax had thought we had been reading to him. Judging by the children's book that now laid on the rocking chair. I didn't know how Jax would feel if he found out we were investigating Tara. The double doors separating NICU from the rest of the hospital opened and I glanced up. Eliot Oswald, I offered the man a small smile in greeting before stepping back in Abel's room. Mom followed a moment later, as we both pretended not to listen to the conversation.

"Have you found him yet?" Oswald demanded.

"No, not yet," Jax stated. "We need you to talk to your daughter again."

"Tristen doesn't remember anything after she got off the ride," Oswald shook his head.

"You gotta dig a little deeper," Jax explained calmly. "We need something. Did the guy have a car? Was he black? White?"

"She's still in shock!" Oswald hissed. "Karen just wants her to rest."

"Look man, Tristen's our only shot at finding this asshole," Jax whispered. "You want our help…"

"I'll talk to Karen," Oswald growled. "You find him."

Oswald turned on his heel, slamming out of the hallway. I felt bad for Oswald, he wanted to find his daughter's rapist, get revenge for it. It's something we all understood. I also understood how frayed his nerves must've been. I never managed to sleep if one of my family member's were in the hospital; god only knows how he was feeling. The poor man looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And he must've been desperate if he was asking for our help.

With Oswald gone, Jax turned to look at Mom. They shared a silent conversation before Jax walked off. It was clear that Jax needed help, needed someone to talk to Tristen and get her mother out of the way.

"I'm going to go find Karen," Mom whispered. "You talk to Tristen."

Without waiting for my response, Mom left the room. Seeing no other choice, and also wanting to see how the girl was doing, I got up walking out of NICU and heading towards where Tristen would be. There were no security, police, or overprotective parents blocking the door, so I snuck in, softly shutting the door behind me. I eyed the young girl sitting on the bed. She still looked terrified.

"Hey, Trist," I greeted. "How are you feeling?"

She had an oxygen mask under her nose, a pink cell phone in her hands. Even in a place like St. Thomas' she looked scared. Skittish. And my heart sank, once I realized those characteristics wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

"My mom told me to text her if anyone tried to…" Tristen said, her hands trembling.

"No, Trist, it's okay," I whispered. "It's Izzy, remember?"

"You," Tristen swallowed, her eyes welling with tears. "You're the one who found me."

"Yes, sweetheart," I replied. "You know it's going to be okay, right?

Tristen shook her head as tears rolled down her face. "How can anything be okay?"

"I know it looks like nothing is ever going to be okay," I sighed. "But your dad and mine are working to make sure that the man who did this to you, will never do this to anyone else."

"They'll kill him?" Tristen questioned. "Otherwise he's never going to stop. He…he said if I ever said anything he'd come back…"

"He's never going to hurt you again, Tristen," I said, firmly. "I promise."

"What will people say?" Tristen whispered.

"I know people are going to talk," I responded. "But they won't talk for long. Something else will happen that will distract everyone."

"How can you know that?" Tristen glared.

"I was in a similar situation when I was your age," I shrugged.

Tristen stared at me in shock. Clearly, that hadn't been the answer she had expected. She had probably shot that question at everyone else, who then had backed down and left the girl to her thoughts. But, that wasn't what Tristen needed. She needed to see that this wasn't the end of her life, not if she didn't want it to be.

"What?" Tristen gasped. "What happened?"

"I was kidnapped," I explained. "I was walking home from school when someone snuck up behind me and smacked me over the head. I must've lost consciousness, the next time I woke up; I didn't recognize my surroundings. They beat me, brutally, for hours. I thought I was going to die."

"Oh, my god," Tristen gasped.

I held out my wrists for the younger girl to see. The wounds had long since healed but there was and always would be light scarring around both my wrists from where the handcuffs had dug into my skin. I had fought tooth and nail, but the only thing that got me was cutting my wrists so deeply that they had to be stitched closed.

"What happened?" Tristen questioned.

"My family saved me," I replied. "I don't know how, but they did. Which is why I'm going to help you."

"You will?" Tristen mumbled.

"I give you my word, sweetheart," I vowed. "But you need to tell me about the man."

"He was dressed as a clown," Tristen shuddered. "He didn't even take his make-up off. And he grabbed me off the ride, pulling me through the woods. When I fell he just pulled off my pants and panties. He was too heavy." Tristen began to cry. "I…I couldn't get him off me. When I struggled too much he punched me. He finished a few minutes later before stumbling off."

"You were very brave, Trist," I praised. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're going to stop him now?" Tristen asked.

"He's never going to hurt anyone, ever again," I growled.

I rose to my feet, jumping when Tristen's hand grabbed my wrist. Suddenly the thirteen year old looked so much older. Her green eyes bored into mine as I met her gaze. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied.

Tristen let go of my wrist as I hitched my bag higher up on my shoulder walking out of the room. I headed back towards Abel's room, stepping inside the smallish room. I pulled out the pre-pay I always kept in my purse, hitting the first speed dial.

"Yeah?"

"Dad, I know who raped Tristen," I announced. "It was some asshole dressed in a clown costume. And there's only one clown I saw at Fun Town last night."

"Thanks, baby," Clay said. "I want you to wait with your mom until we all get back, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Go give that asshole what he deserves."

"Oh, he'll get his, don't you even worry about that, Izzy."

I heard the click as the call was disconnected. I stowed the phone back in my bag, layin it on the floor. I took a seat in the rocking chair next to the incubator. I started just talking to Abel, figuring that it would be just as good for him as reading him a story. I was so engrossed with my nephew that I didn't notice the door open.

"Iz," Jax called.

My head shot up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Jax questioned.

"I just told Clay that I found out who raped Tristen," I stated. "Mom and I did a divide and conquer but Karen's probably telling Hale everything now."

"Shit," Jax muttered. "I gotta go."

"I'll try and stall Hale," I offered.

"Thanks, Izzy," Jax grinned. He laid his hand on my shoulder for a second before he ran out of the hallway.

"I'll be right back, little man," I whispered before I followed after my brother.

I dashed out of the hospital, glancing around the parking lot finding Hale's jeep easily. I snuck up to it, ducking down next to the back right tire. I pulled out my switchblade expertly wedging it between the tire and the rim. The air came out with a hiss and then I did the same to the tire on the other side. I heard the glass doors open with a whoosh and ran to hide behind another car.

"God damn it," Hale hissed. I watched him press the button on his walkie-talkie saying that he was in need of assistance. Maybe it was immature but I enjoyed watching David Hale fume in the hospital parking lot. Guess he didn't like being given a taste of his own medicine. He delayed the Sons this morning; as far as I was concerned me deflating his tires was karma.

It was rather late at night, which meant that any and all assistance would take a while. Thank god for small towns. By the time the cops got around to pick up Hale and go to the fairgrounds the Sons already would've come and gone. When I was sure that Hale wasn't paying attention, I snuck back into the hospital and once again joined my mother in Abel's room.

"You did good, baby," Mom praised. "I heard you told Tristen about what happened."

"I figured it would help her," I shrugged. "Let her know that horrible shit just happens sometimes but it won't make you. I just hope she won't let it break her down."

"It won't," Mom sighed. "She's strong. Just like you."


	5. Sins and Secrets

**Chapter Five: Sins and Secrets**

_"__Life kicks you around sometimes. It scares you and it beats you up. But there's one day when you realize you're not just a survivor, you're a fighter. You're tougher than anything life throws your way. You are.__"_

It was nearly three in the morning, I had been in bed with Marco and within the next instant I was being jostled awake. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I realized that something was off. At three in the morning in a town like this it was usually unheard of for someone to be knocking at your door. And if someone was knocking at your door it was never to pay a friendly visit.

I slid into a pair of jeans as I wrapped my hands around the baseball bat I kept under the bed as I walked quietly to the front door. For someone who was ex-military, Marco could sleep through just about anything. I looked through the peephole and gasped tossing the bat on the ground as I wrenched open the door, pulling in the person who was waiting on my porch.

"Anna?" I whispered. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Anna looked awful her normally carefully applied make-up was running, mascara and tears running down her face as she looked at me. She was trembling and her hair was a mess, as if someone had ran their hands through it a few dozen times.

"I fucked up," Anna whimpered. "Oh, god, Iz, I'm so screwed."

"What happened?" I demanded, fearing the worst as I watched Anna's eyes once again fill with tears.

"I'm pregnant," Anna confessed. "I just took five pregnancy tests in a row. They're all positive."

"Who's the father?" I asked.

"Do I look like _Maury_?" Anna snapped, sounding more like herself than she previously had. "I haven't been like Mother Theresa, ya know?"

"Who was the last person you fucked, Anna?" I growled back.

"Juice," Anna confessed.

"Juice?" I repeated. "You fucked Juice? When the hell did you do that?"

"It was at the last huge blow out a couple of weeks ago," Anna huffed. "Remember the one where Tacoma's whole charter came down to help our guys with something?"

"I had no idea that you and Juice were together," I mumbled.

"Yeah we started fooling around a few months ago," Anna huffed. "I got wasted and he got laid. It was a nice little hook up going on. We were getting to the point where I thought we could turn this into a serious thing and then the stupid bastard knocked me up."

At my look she continued mocking in a deep husky voice, "_Don't worry, Anna, I got a condom._ Fucking asshole."

"Oh man, Opie's gonna kill him," I whistled.

"Not if I kill him first," Anna sniffled resolutely. "Damn idiot. I feel so stupid."

"Well, you were considering turning it into a serious thing," I shrugged. "Nothing's more serious then a baby. You gonna keep it?"

"Yeah," Anna whispered. "Part of me really wants a kid but I'm…I was just taken by surprise. And it's Juice, he's not going to want a kid. He still stutters whenever he's around me."

"He loves you." I rolled my eyes. It was completely obvious now that I knew they were together. They had been dancing around each other since Juice had been patched in the summer we had graduated high school.

"Yeah, well, he's not going to love me so much after I beat the shit outta him," Anna fumed. "Mother fucker lied to me."

"You wanna crash here for a few hours or do you wanna go to the diner to get the jump on prep?"

"I can't sleep," Anna huffed.

"Give me ten minutes?" I requested.

"Yeah," Anna sighed. "I'll watch TV or something."

I was almost done with my shower when I heard a surprised shriek. I nearly tripped as I jumped and gasped. When I recovered my footing I moved out of the shower and covered myself in a towel, running out into the master bedroom. Marco was now sitting up in bed, looking between Anna and I.

"What the hell?" Anna demanded. "You guilt trip me about keeping secrets and you're fucking Marco?"

"Yeah, we got together a few months ago," I shrugged, purposefully phrasing my words the way she had.

"Don't be a bitch, Izzy," Anna growled. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"It was never the right time," I replied. "I didn't purposefully not tell you, Annie. I just didn't know how. And then there was the fact that Marco and I aren't even supposed to be together until he's patched…"

"Oh," Anna nodded. "I see. Well, you two will be debuting tomorrow then?"

"I hope so," I smiled exchanging a pleased look with Marco.

"Well, I'll let you get ready," Anna smirked.

Ten minutes later I was dressed and ready to go in a pair of black leggings and a red sweater dress. I gave Marco a kiss goodbye before I walked into the hallway. I slid on a pair of heels as I snagged my keys off the set of hooks at the door. I took my car while Anna took hers as we followed each other to the diner. It was still dark outside and the diner was pitch black as we walked in. The first thing I did was turn on the signs outside, in addition to all of the lights.

Anna and I found things to do until the others began to show up. After Kat and Tori showed up the rest of our wait staff did as well. I was busy looking over our inventory lists while Anna was placing orders for anything we were low on. I didn't think anything of the door opening until I heard Anna slam the phone back in its cradle.

"You son of a bitch," Anna snarled.

I looked up in time to see Half-Sack and Juice standing awkwardly and wide-eyed by the front door. Some of our waitresses were looking in between the two parties in confusion as Anna hopped over the counter and stormed over towards Juice. There was a hell of a lot of anger that she managed to pack into the svelte frame of hers. I was just glad that no customers had shown up yet. If she was choosing now to confront Juice over knocking her up word would've been all over town. Luckily our waitresses knew when to keep their mouths shut.

"What did I do?" Juice squeaked as Anna scowled at him shoving him against the wall.

"The better question is what didn't you do?" Anna hissed. "Remember what I told you?"

"You're gonna have to give me more hints than that, sweetheart," Juice smiled.

"No glove, no love!" Anna yelled. "You son of a bitch. You told me you were wearing a condom."

At Juice's blank look Anna grumbled something under her breath before snapping, "I'm pregnant, you idiot!"

"You're what?" Juice gasped. "How?"

"I don't know," Anna muttered. "Were you wearing a condom?"

"You said you were on birth control, Anna," Juice whined.

I rolled my eyes in Juice's direction as Half-Sack walked away from him and out of the line of fire. I knew how well that comment had gone over with Anna judging by the tension in her shoulders and the fact that she was bouncing on her heels. All my life, she had been the volatile one. In a way Anna reminded me a lot of mom. She wasn't afraid to protect herself and any one she deemed her family. And Anna sure as hell didn't let a little thing like conscience get in the way of retribution if she felt it was owed.

The only person who could ever calm her done enough to listen to reason was either Opie or me. Anna could go with the flow most of the time but once she was angry, she'd be angry for a while. It was something she had learned from her father. But unlike his daughter, Piney had calmed down as he had gotten older.

I listened as Anna tore into Juice verbally, knowing that she might still clock him one. Unfortunately, as I was listening to Anna yell at Juice, I heard the unmistakable sound of a group of motorcycles. Sure, normally it was Juice and Half-Sack watching over but that never stopped the others from eating here. Just as I saw Anna drawing her fist back, I saw my brother walking up the steps to the diner.

"Anna!" I warned.

But it was to late, as Anna threw a punch hitting Juice square in the stomach, Jax opened the door, catching the display. Juice doubled over wheezing as Anna moved to hit him again. Jax reacted like he always had when one of us were fighting, grabbing her around the stomach and lifting her effortlessly off her feet and away from Juice.

"The fuck is going on?" Jax demanded, depositing her on one of the stools directly in front of me.

Most people would think that Jax was asking Anna that question, and I think he was but he turned to glare at Juice. He had finally recovered from Anna's punch and noticed that Jax was staring at him.

"What the hell did you do?" Jax questioned.

"Me?" Juice complained.

"Don't you say a word," Anna snarled causing Jax to turn and look at her in confusion.

"The hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothin'," Anna huffed crossing her arms across her chest. "Juice and I were just talking."

"You punched him in the stomach," Jax noted.

"It was that kind of conversation," Anna shrugged then she noticed that Amanda and Janice were still gawking at the lot of us. "Would you get back to work?"

The girls exchanged looks with each other before they did as they were told, choosing to go into the back room and away from this scene. If I wasn't distracted with Anna, I would've remember how weird that those two had exchanged non-murderous looks with each other.

"Promise you won't hit anyone else?" Jax asked.

"I don't make promises I'll probably not be able to keep," Anna shrugged.

Jax rolled his eyes frowning at both Anna and I before moving to sit at one of the booths. A few minutes later, Clay walked in quickly followed by Tig and Bobby. Clay walked over to Anna and I, kissing both of us on the cheek before going to sit next to Jax. Bobby gave us both a hug before going to sit at booth directly behind Jax and Clay.

"What's going on, Tigger?" Anna asked eyeing the scene carefully.

"Club business, sweet cheeks," Tig answered. "Don't worry."

"You saying not to worry doesn't really put my mind at ease, Tig," I muttered.

"We got everything handled, Izzy," Tig promised. "Nothing's going to happen."

At my doubtful look Tig rolled his eyes kissing me on the forehead and patting Anna on the head. We frowned at him as he moved to the both bench opposite Jax and Clay. So that anyone sat on the opposite of the table he'd be behind them. Anna sent a suspicious look my way and I shrugged in response. The Sons had done 'business' meetings like this in the past. I guess the conspicuous location made both parties feel at ease.

Despite Tig's promise that nothing would happen, my heart began to race as Ernest Darby came walking through the door. Most of our other customers were quick to advert their gaze as Darby walked right by where I was standing to sit across from Clay. His own bodyguard sat next to him. Darby was blatant in his racism with Nazi tattoos along both arms. It seems like he had gotten new ink in Chino. There was a swastika on the hollow of his throat.

It was still fairly empty at this point but there were enough people to make sure that the conversation between Darby and my family didn't go unnoticed. About a half dozen families had swarmed into the diner, kicking things into a high gear. Still, being the boss didn't go without its perks. Mainly that I didn't hide the fact that I was watching from either my stepfather or my brother as Clay slid a box over to Darby. They were too far away so I couldn't exactly make out what they were saying but I could tell that they were resetting some boundaries. I don't know why they chose to have this meeting here, of all places. I mean, this was far from common ground. Normally they didn't like the NORD's anywhere near us.

Suddenly Jax lunged across the table aiming towards Darby. The bodyguard grappled with my brother as Tig grabbed the neo-Nazi in a headlock slamming his ass back in the seat as Bobby grabbed Jax. After a few more pleasantries were exchanged Clay slid out of the booth with Jax, Bobby, and Tig at his heels. Jax paused at the table, dropped a few bills on the counter before walking over to me. He stood in front of me as the others walked by. Clay said something to both Juice and Half-Sack, who nodded at whatever he had said.

"You coming, brother?" Bobby asked.

"Give me a minute," Jax requested.

"We'll wait outside," Bobby replied before he, Tig, and Clay walked out the door, waving goodbye to Anna and I.

"Sorry about that," Jax apologized.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"It's nothing, Izzy," Jax responded.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as Jax narrowed his own eyes at me. A look that clearly told me that he wouldn't be giving up any information. Well, then two could play that game.

"Everything okay here?" Jax questioned. "If you want I could send someone else over."

"No, it's all right," I replied. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"That was a solid shot to the stomach," Jax stated.

"At least it wasn't a punch in the face," I smiled. At Jax's frown I laughed, "You gotta learn to be optimistic, big brother."

"You're hilarious," Jax muttered.

"So I've been told," I grinned, widely.

Jax rolled his eyes, turning his attention outside for a moment when a few of the guys revved their engine. "I guess that's my queue to go."

"I'll see you later," I said.

"Yeah, I'll see you later, Iz," Jax replied. With a departing wave and a heavy look directed towards Juice, Jax walked outside. A few seconds later all the bikes started up and drove off, heading back towards TM.

"Well, hello there, biker princess," Darby greeted.

"Hello neighborhood skinhead," I smirked. "What'd you say to my brother?"

"Nothing of your concern," Darby replied, dismissively. "You know, you've grown into quite an attractive young lady."

"I know you've been in the tombs a long time, Darby, but you're barking up the wrong tree."

"Perhaps," Darby shrugged. "Let's go, boys."

I grimaced when Darby pulled out a wad of twenties, peeling three back before handing them to me. With one final smirk he made his leave.

The rest of the day passed by normally. The diner ran as smoothly as it ever did. We had a few deliveries from the companies who sold us canned goods and the like. I saw the same regular customers and high school kids. It was nice to see that Amanda and Janice actually seemed to be trying to get along. There was no more pushing and shoving or catty name-calling. Tori, Kat, Annie, and I cleaned and put things away around midnight. When we were done, we walked out together, getting into our individual cars. We followed each other towards the cluster that all of Sam Crow had ended up. I split off from the others first, steering the mustang into the driveway.

All I wanted to do was go to sleep but the motorcycle parked next to the garage made it clear that sleep wouldn't be happening anytime soon. I glowered at Jax's bike as I let myself into the house quickly disarming the alarm before making it active once more.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Nice to see you too, grumpy," Jax teased, emerging from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes at him as I dropped onto one of the couch cushions.

"You know it's getting close…"

"Jax, are you really going to bring up that anniversary?" I muttered.

"It's a big deal, Izzy," Jax retorted. "You were missing for three days."

"Yeah, and that happened eleven years ago," I scoffed. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Really?" Jax rolled his eyes.

He pulled an orange prescription bottle out of his cut, tossing it on my lap. I glanced down at the bottle already knowing that he had found what had once held a one-month supply of anxiety pills. A prescription that would normally last me a while. I had burned through it in two weeks. I didn't notice that Jax had snatched my bag until he was already digging through it. He pulled out the other bottle and leveled with me a heavy look.

"What?" I growled.

"If doesn't matter anymore," Jax responded, "then why have you gone through all of these?"

"You're pathetic when you're fishing," I muttered attempting to walk away.

Jax reached out and grabbed my arm halting my movements, "And you're transparent when you're deflecting."

I scowled at him and rolled my eyes. We had this argument every single year, without fail. I knew it bothered Jax that there might be one time where I have a panic attack and no one's around to help me.

"It's not like they're ever going to come back," I sighed. "You wiped out the entire club."

"Yes, we did," Jax said. "No one fucks with the Sons and gets away with it."

**September 30, 1997**

_It was just an average day, the sun was high in the sky on a nice cloudless afternoon. I had waited for a half hour for someone to pick us up. Anna and Marco had an after school program, so I didn't see the harm in walking home. If I wasn't safe in Charming, I wasn't safe anywhere. I was about four blocks away when I heard tires screeching. I didn't even get a chance to look behind me before I felt a white-hot pain and my vision went dark._

_"Looks like Sam Crow's princess is finally coming around," A deep masculine voice announced. _

_I didn't open my eyes right away trying to place my surroundings. Then I realized that the last thing I remembered was being hit over the head with something, tires screeching down the block. When I opened my eyes I was looking directly into the dark brown eyes of a complete stranger._

_"Do you know who I am, sweetheart?" The man asked._

_I did a quick sweep of the room. I knew that we were in a motel room. There were two beds, a small table and four chairs, one of which I was tied to. There were five other men in the room, all of them wearing a black leather vest. I saw the patch of President, Vice President, Sergeant at Arms, and Secretary. But, the patches were different from Sam Crow's. A rival charter, I guessed._

_"I asked you a question," The man growled. His voice become a little more menacing._

_"No, I don't," I replied. "I do know that you're really stupid to go after the National President of the Sons of Anarchy's daughter."_

_"Mouthy little brat," The Sergeant at Arms muttered._

_"Don't sass me, little girl," The President warned. "I ain't your daddy."_

_"Obviously," I muttered. "My daddy knows proper grammar."_

_My head snapped to the side as my cheek exploded in pain. I let out a gasp as I looked down at the floor. Okay, these guys really weren't playing around. He also had heard what I said. My cheek felt hot and wet, I glanced towards his hand and saw the a few rings on his finger. That's why that had hurt so much._

_"We're the Jackals, bitch," The Sergeant at Arms stated._

_"And the Sons of Anarchy crossed the wrong people," The president snarled._

_I straightened in my chair testing the ropes that kept me tied to it finding them unyielding. I looked over at the one man who had yet to speak. He didn't have a ranking patch like all the others. What made me worried was how icy his eyes were. He pulled out a knife and approached me._

_"Don't touch me," I screamed._

_"You're not in the position to be giving orders, girl," The man warned before smacking the same cheek that had been hit before. _

_That one blow started everything. Before today I never really knew how much something could hurt. I had fallen out of the tree in my backyard a few years ago and the pain of my arm snapping on impact had been excruciating but this was like breaking my arm over and over again. Finally I had passed out from the pain. _

_The problem was when I woke up I was still in the exact same position I was when I had fainted. The same men were staring at me, looking even more menacing then the first time I had come to. Why were they doing this to me? It wasn't my fault that I had been born into the Sons of Anarchy, and it wasn't like I'd ever be a member._

_"They're going to find me," I vowed. "And they'll kill every one of you. I wouldn't be surprised if they wiped out your families on principle."_

_"Shut up, bitch," The man who had cut me up growled. _

_I shifted in my seat noticing the metallic clang of metal on metal. I glanced down and saw the glint of handcuffs on my wrists._

_"We figured that stronger restraints would be called for," The Sergeant stated. "You almost thrashed your way out of the rope."_

_"Let's get started."_

_"No!" I screamed and never stopped screaming._

_When I came too for the third time I was tired, everything hurt from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Every single nerve ending I had was live and screaming in pain. I thought I was going to die, started to pray for it actually. Everything hurt too much, it hurt to breath. Tears kept pouring down my face mixing with the blood and other things. I don't think those guys new I was awake, though. They were talking quietly on the other side of the room. When I heard what sounded like dozens of motorcycles my heart filled with hope._

_"Shit, man," The secretary hissed. His voice sounded scared and nervous. "They found us. I told you taking that one was a bad fucking idea."_

_"Man up, Hopkins," The President scolded. "We'll kill those fuckers, then we'll kill the brat."_

_"And then we'll be running for the rest of our lives," One of the mumbled._

_"Shut the fuck up!" The President snarled. "Get out the fucking guns and hide the little bitch."_

_I let out a yelp when one of them grabbed me by my hair, cutting the remaining ropes and leaving the handcuffs on, keeping my arms bound behind my back. I growled when the man opened the closet and shoved me in, shutting it behind me. After that I heard gunfire, which didn't seem that it would ever stop. I crawled into the back of the closet and ducked down. When the closet door flew open I burrowed deeper into the floor. I just wanted to go home._

_"Please don't hurt me anymore," I pleaded staring at the ground in exhaustion and defeat. Knowing that the men who had kidnapped me would do whatever the hell they wanted to no matter what I said._

_"Izzy?" _

_"Otto," I whispered._

_"Jesus," Otto hissed. "Hey, guys, I found her!"_

_I heard the familiar sound of boots running into the room and suddenly the closet door was crowded with the men in my family._

_"Bella, oh my god," Clay gasped._

_"Daddy," I cried._

_"Otto, go get Chibs," Clay ordered. "Bobby, get the van ready. We gotta get her to St. Thomas."_

_Someone unlocked the handcuffs from my wrists and I threw myself into Clay's arms sobbing._

_"I got you, sweetheart," Clay whispered. "It's okay. You're okay."_

I shook my head as the events all those years ago seemed to play in my mind in vivid Technicolor. I had almost died, Chibs had saved my life. I had been stuck at St. Thomas for two weeks after that. Then I kept missing school for panic attacks or even having panic attacks in school. The slightest thing could set one off, if someone jostled me or there was a loud noise it would trigger instantly. Chibs was one of the ones who taught me coping strategies.

After my abduction, there were always guys waiting for Anna, Marco, and I after school. Nearly ever person had an escort and Clay had put out a kill order on every single Jackal member. Their numbers had gone all the way down to zero in an instant. It was an impressive show of force, one that drew the notice of the ATF, but they couldn't prove anything. It also kept the Mayans at bay. After watching the Sons crush one club worldwide, few seemed willing to cross them anytime soon.

"Izzy?" Jax was talking to me but I really couldn't make out what he was saying. "Bella?"

I felt his arm warm and heavy over my shoulders as his eyes tried to catch mine, "Iz, you're freaking me out."

"Sorry," I muttered. This time I avoided his eyes because I didn't want to see the concern that was there.

This was one of the reasons why I hated when the guys asked if I was tired or tried to talk about what had happened eleven years ago. I'd zone out, remembering everything. How the smell of blood, my blood, coated the room. Then the boys would treat me like glass. I hated how I much I needed my anti-anxiety meds during this time. My body felt like it was vibrating, a panic attack was likely coming, the only thing that kept it away were those meds. If I allowed myself to think about it, I felt broken.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Jax growled. "I didn't mean to push."

"I know," I mumbled. "You don't like those stupid pill any more than I do."

"What I don't like," Jax corrected firmly. "Is you taking them and not telling anyone. Damn it, Bella, you don't fuck around with that kind of thing."

"I'm fine, Jackson," I retorted. "I know what I'm doing."

Before Jax could say anything I began to walk back towards my room.

"Where are you going?" Jax called after me.

"Bed!" I stated. "You can crash here if you want to."

I shut the door behind me and collapsed bonelessly into bed. Of course it seemed that no matter how tired I was I never managed to sleep for more than four hours at any one time. Unless I was really sick or drugged with anything that could make me drowsy. Often times, though, I was up in four hours. That was why I was nearly always the first one at the diner, setting things up. Or I'd sneak into TM and organize the office or clean the clubhouse.

The diner was shut down the next morning. Anna, Kat, Tori, and I were in the there though, cooking for Marco's patch party. Normally parties like this were held the next day but with a legacy like Marco, it was pretty much a shoe in. I had never heard of any legacy being turned away. Kids who grew up in the life were different, they were use to the life, knew the rules. They didn't have to be trained in the same way.

More charters were coming to celebrate with us. It was interesting to see all the motorcycles go by the window. I saw cuts from Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and the Nomads. Occasionally when one of the larger charters rolled by the windows it would trigger a lot of car alarms and shake the diner. While the guys were doing whatever they were doing, the old ladies were setting everything up. We made sure that there was enough alcohol, snack food, burgers and various other things to feed the crowd.

At around six thirty, we cleaned up the mess and loaded everything into the cars. We followed one another into TM, parking in the back. Once we got there the other old ladies helped us pull everything out of the car and set it up on all the tables. The speaker systems were already set up and the grill had been fired up.

As I set up, I'd glance at the clubhouse doors every so often. In order for someone to be patched in, all the members had to agree that the prospect was worthy of the top rocker, the Reaper patch. Because Marco was Redwood's prospect, only the redwood members would be in the Chapel. All the members from the other charters were in the clubhouse, pre-gaming, most likely. Their prospects were out with us, doing all the manual labor.

When the door was thrown open all the women and I stopped what we were doing to watch. Sons came pouring out but I had yet to see any of the Redwood Originals. Finally, Clay and Jax came out, smiling widely. A few minutes later, Tig and Bobby came out, followed by Damien and Chibs. Half-sack and Juice were next, and then, Marco came out. He was smiling widely. The new patches were sown onto his cut. The patches would never be as clean as were right now. All I wanted to do was jump into his arms but I stayed by Anna's side as Clay stood on one of the picnic tables, Jax and Tig were flanking him, looking out at the gathered masses.

"I would like to thank you all for coming," Clay boomed. "Today Marco Vellenueva has followed in his father's footsteps. Another Son has found his rightful place. If Chico were still with us today, I know how proud he'd be. Welcome, brother."

Everyone began cheering as people clapped Marco on the back and hugged him. Then the party really kicked off. The music was pumped up and the sluts poured in. Alcohol flowed and conversation and laughter grew. I slid in between random people as I made my way to the guest of honors side.

"Congratulations," I smiled.

"Thanks, Izzy," Marco grinned.

He pulled me into his side, my arm wrapped around him. I felt the new patches on the back of his vest and smiled.

"Come with me," Marco whispered.

He grabbed my hand leading me through the crowd and into the clubhouse. It was more quiet in here than it was outside. Marco looked so happy that I couldn't help but smile too. He trapped me against the wall, kissing me firmly. My arms wrapped around his neck as the kiss deepened, his tongue slipping into my mouth.

I squeaked when Marco's hands slid down my waist and hips before going around and grabbing my ass. I moaned into his mouth as he stooped down using his grip to pull me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around my waist. My back was flat against the wall as my hands wound their way into his hair.

"Whoa," Someone laughed. "Get it, Cougs!"

I felt myself flush deeply as Marco pulled away, placing me back on my feet with a snicker. Looking around him I saw Tig standing there. Looking like a proud father, at least until he saw me then his eyes widened in shock.

"Hi, Tigger," I smiled.

"Does Clay know about this?" Tig finally asked.

"Yup," Marco replied. "He's okay with it." Marco glanced down at me, his eyes twinkling.

That meant that Clay had given the green light. Of course he had probably still been threatened with the whole that's-my-daughter-you-break-her-heart-I'll-snap-your-neck. Still the fact that Clay had said it was okay meant a lot. Granted, I never think I'd ever have boyfriend outside of the club. Judging by the fact that the guys chased away any boy that seemed willing to date me.

"You two should get a room then," Tig muttered. "Last thing I want to see is my niece getting lucky."

Marco and I both smirked at Tig who rolled his eyes, pulling the skinny croweater that I hadn't noticed in the room along behind him. Deciding to leave Tig to his privacy we both stepped back into the party, which seemed to become even wilder in our absence. We danced for a bit, making out every so often to keep the crow eaters at bay. Traditionally, a newly patched Son would have girl's swarming him. But, I wasn't about to let that happen. Whatever happened on a run, stayed on a run but the only pussy Marco would ever get in Charming was mine.


	6. Scars and Souvenirs

**Chapter Six: Scars and Souvenirs**

"_Learning to breathe_

_I'm learning to crawl._

_I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall._

_I'm living again, awake and alive…_

_I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies"_

Next Saturday found me at the tattoo parlor. Freddy Corbin had opened up the shop around ten years ago. He was the one most club member went to for tats, we trusted him. The other person who frequently would do tattoos was Happy, but he had to go back to Tacoma right after the patch-in party the week before. Some people thought tattoos hurt but to me they were more annoying than anything else. Just a constant pressure. It wasn't excruciating, in fact after a while it lulled me into a kind of relaxation. The thrumming of the needle was actually making me drowsy.

This was the moment that would cement Marco and my relationship. I was getting my crow. I decided to put it in between my shoulder blades. The crow was done in gray scale with its wings spread out, as if it was flying. It had a heart in the middle of its chest and its talons clutched a ribbon that said Sons of Anarchy. At the same time I was getting my crow, I was also getting a cougar on my right wrist, directly opposite my anarchy symbol. Marco was sitting next to me, still bare-chested from when he had gotten his back tattooed. It had become a tradition for the younger members of the MC to get the entire back of their cut permanently on their skin. Marco was holding my free hand, smiling whenever he caught my eye.

He and I had been dating in secret for around six months but it had felt even longer. Marco knew who I was inside and out. He could read the parts of me that went unnoticed. The slightest tension in my shoulders or the furrowed brow that only appears for a split second. He was attentive and smart. Marco knew exactly what the life was and respected it, was now a part of it. A fully patched member, and I was his old lady. I had the ink to prove it. My eyes locked on the swirly script that was now right over Marco's heart. There as plain as day was: _Isabelle Teller 12-13-07_, the day we had become official, at least, to one another. It was a mutual decision to keep things quiet for as long as we had.

An old lady had a lot more power than an outsider would think, there was also a lot of responsibility involved. While the boys knitted themselves into a family; the heart of the family were the women. If your boy is a patched member you're relationship is not only with him but the entire club. Even if I was new to the official old lady thing, I had scene it a thousand times. It also wasn't that much of a stretch, from the time I was born, my entire life involved around the club. Those boys were family regardless of how long they have been patched-in.

Brothers and sisters were welcome at all times for any reason. Mom had taught me as much, with our house being an open door. We also weren't supposed be nosy. Club business, as Clay frequently told my mother and I, was not our business. Not that it stopped us for interfering. Though my mother, Anna and I weren't just any run of the mill old ladies. We had connections some biological or martial that kept us a step above the rest. That very ideology turned my mother into the Queen. Clay controlled everything within the SOA, my mother ran the women. In the women's hierarchy, Anna and I were the princesses, my mother's eyes and ears, whenever we heard something she didn't know, we'd quickly fill her in.

Kat and Tori had one played a part in that but they had slowly backed off. Not so much so that they forfeited their birthright but they had recognized that there was a slight difference between the founding families and the families of the original nine. They were all equally important but the founding families did have an edge, one that Anna and I used. I knew that Damien still kept Kat in the loop and Tori's old man would if he was still around.

Like Kat and I, Tori had hooked up with one of the offspring of the original nine. Joel Grazer was Wally's only son and the only one who was still alive out of the Grazer family. Emerson and Tiffany, Joel's younger twin sisters were murdered by a rival club in 2003. Wally had died that September, I think he had simply lost too much, his daughters and his wife. That kind of grief fucks you up. Joel had spiraled after that, landing in Chino that December when retaliation went South. Like Opie, Joel had faced an arson charge and would be released next year, hopefully.

As much as Marco tried to keep me on a need-to-know basis, I frequently found out one way or another. It was supposed to be for my protection but I caught on a lot faster then some of the other women of the SOA, just from observing the guys and knowing how my father handled things.

We had just left the tattoo parlor, when Marco's pre-pay went off. I pulled myself from his side to give him so privacy as he answered the phone.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Marco questioned. "Huh. Really? Okay, I just gotta pack, I'll be over there soon."

He hung up the phone just as quickly as he answered and glanced over at me, "I gotta get to TM, they called church early."

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"I don't know," Marco sighed. "I'll drop you off at home?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "Take me with you. I'll try to catch Ma before she goes to see Abel."

I took the helmet that Marco handed me, strapping it on my head and straddling the bike, sliding closer to hold Marco around the waist. The motorcycle purred to life, a roaring behemoth; a beast that demanded respect. I sighed hiding my face in his back as Marco expertly weaved between cars, moving towards TM.

Marco parked his bike in between Juice and Tig's, kicking the kickstand out and tilting it to rest with the others. I jumped off, laying the helmet on the handlebars and kissing Marco on the cheek before running towards the office. Mom was sitting at the desk, her boots propped up on top, a notebook in her lap.

"Hey, baby," Mom greeted.

"Hey, Ma," I smiled. "You going to see Abel anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I was just organizing invoices," Mom replied. "I'll be ready to go in five minutes."

"Okay," I stated. "I'm going to wait outside."

I saw mom nod her head as I walked back out of the door. I leaned against the wall of the office glancing around the lot. I straightened up when I saw an old black cutlass rolling its way onto the lot. What the hell was Tara doing here? I felt my face curl up in a sneer as the aforementioned woman got out of her car glancing around. I was so caught up in glaring at Tara that I didn't notice Jax walking out of the clubhouse. They exchanged a few words before Jax glanced around, waving me over.

I rolled my eyes and jogged to my brother's side, "Hey, Jax." I greeted kissing his cheek. I kept the smile in place when looking at Tara, although, it was decidedly more fake. "Hi Tara. What brings you here?"

"She has to keep the cutlass here," Jax explained. "You think you can give her a ride home?"

"Marco drove me here," I shrugged. "I can ask Mom. Although, you seem to have a perfectly good bike."

"I gotta head out for a few days," Jax responded, sending me a warning look. I guess the fake was bleeding through. "Nevada."

"Really?" I asked. "Why?"

"Visiting Uncle Jury," Jax said. "I gotta head out. Make sure Tara gets home okay."

"I will," I smirked.

Jax shot me another warning look and I held my hands out in an I-surrender gesture. Jax rolled his eyes, walking towards the office to say goodbye to Ma. I stood near Tara, an awkward silence enveloping the two of us.

"Can we talk?" Tara asked suddenly.

"About what?" I returned, suspiciously.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Tara said. "We always got along…"

It was strange to me that Tara was the one to start this conversation. I was the one who had gone to her house with no other intention than to rile her up.

"That was before you stabbed my brother in the back," I muttered.

"We both said stuff we didn't mean," Tara continued. "I just wanted to go to college. It doesn't matter why I'm back, but I am and I'm staying."

"It'll take some time," I replied after a moment. "You broke my trust when you broke his heart. But, if you mean what you say then things will be fine between us, eventually."

"And what about your mother?" Tara asked, her eyes staring past me to where Ma and Jax were walking out of the office.

"I don't think anything will patch up the relationship between you two," I scoffed.

I saw Mom's glare from here before it slid off her face. She said something else to Jax, the latter of whom seemed amused by whatever she said. Jax kissed her one the cheek before ambling towards Tara and I kissing me on the cheek, and kissing Tara as well. Even though I was still slightly angry with the woman, I had to admit that she and Jax balanced one another out.

"Let's go!" Mom called.

"Be safe," I called after my brother before sliding into the backseat of the Cadillac.

Tara slid into the passenger seat, dropping her bag next to her. Just as were about to go, Half-sack came racing out of the garage with a clipboard in his hand.

"Hey, Doc," Half-sack called. "You gotta sign this."

She exited the car, walking over to the prospect, leaving Mom and I alone. Mom had been looking in her own bag for her cigarettes but when Tara left, she stilled and reached for Tara's bag. She looked through the rearview mirror to spot where Tara was before she looked through the bag.

"I'll be damned," Mom scoffed, picking up a gun from Tara's bag.

I turned look out the back window to look at her. Tara never seemed like the gun toting type. Maybe she wasn't so uptight as I thought she was. Mom quickly dropped the gun back where it was as Tara came back.

"You mind if I smoke?" Mom asked.

"And if I say I do?" Tara returned.

"Right," Mom smiled, driving off the lot, tossing the cigarette out the open window. "Must be weird living in that house, everyone gone."

"It's hard to feel lonely," Tara shook her head. "I can't turn around with stepping on some piece of history."

"Clay's the same way," Mom laughed. "Still has boxers from 1967. Me? I can't stand clutter."

Mom eased the Caddy into Tara's driveway, pulling to a smooth stop.

"I get that," Tara muttered. "Thanks."

"You want to tell me why you're carrying?" Mom asked, stopping Tara's movements to get out of the car. "The gun in your bag.

"You went through my bag?" Tara growled. Somewhat surprised.

"Spotted it," Mom shrugged. "I'm very observant."

"I started carrying it when I was in Chicago, I lived in a rough neighborhood," Tara explained. "Haven't gotten around to taking it out yet."

"Beretta's not an old tampon," Mom rolled her eyes. "You just don't forget it's in your bag. Is it registered?"

"I have a permit, it's legal," Tara replied.

"Know how to use it?" Mom questioned.

"Yeah," Tara grumbled. "I do."

Tara didn't saying anything else, throwing open the door and stepping outside. She slammed the car door, walking briskly to her house, going inside without a backward glance. Obviously she didn't like being questioned. I got out of the back seat and slid into the passenger side door.

"Interesting," Mom murmured, backing out of the driveway and heading towards my house. I guess given anythin we wouldn't be going to the hospital today.

"She didn't live in a bad neighborhood," I stated. "The Chicago SOA was keeping tabs, I thought."

"They were?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, Jax asked them to," I explained. "I don't know much. I guess he just wanted to know what happened to her."

"Well something happened to the bitch," Mom mumbled. "I'm calling Luann, we're getting some answers."

It was quiet the rest of the short drive to my house. I kissed her on the cheek, watching as she drove down the driveway and down the block. I dug around my bag for my keys, walking to the door and unlocking it, push the heavy wooden rectangle open before shutting it behind me. I quickly disarmed and rearmed the security system walking towards the kitchen.

I was busy cleaning, realizing that there was a lot more housework to do when you were no longer living by yourself. Some of Marco's boxes were still in the basement, stacked on the pool table that was down there. I began unpacking them, smirking as I recalled Mom's words from earlier: I hate clutter. I was the same way. My house was organized from top to bottom, everything had a place. I heard the front door swing open and shut quickly. Before I could even move Marco had called, "Babe? I'm home!"

"I'm in the basement," I responded.

I dropped the shirt I was folding, walking back upstairs and almost running into Marco.

"You're home early," I mused. "I thought you'd be working."

"I was," Marco explained. "Jax called from the road. Mayans spotted him, which means that this trip won't be as under the radar as Clay wanted. We gotta run to Indian Hills, mandatory ride."

"Oh," I said. "Be careful."

"We will," Marco soothed. "I just gotta grab a few things. And Opie and Piney will be here in case anything happens. The boys from Tacoma are also will be down for a charity run, I think Clay was contemplating asking them to leave a few of their prospects behind."

"We'll all be fine here." This time it was my turn to soothe. This was the first run with me as his old lady. Marco's first run as a fully patched member.

He placed a gentle kiss on my lips, moving down the hallway to our bedroom. I followed after him, watching as he knocked against the hidden compartment in the closet. Marco pulled out his gun holster, swinging it around his shoulders before strapping two Beretta's in the open holsters.

He put his cut back on, loading up the inside pocket with extra clips. The last thing he grabbed was his sniper rifle, carefully packing it away with spare clips. At my questioning look he shrugged, "Can never be too prepared, right?"

"That's true," I mused.

Marco smiled, closing the distance between us to give me a more passionate kiss. I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me even closer into his frame. When we disengaged, he had a smile on his face.

"Be good, Iz," Marco smirked.

"Yeah, I'll try," I laughed. "Be careful."

"I will," Marco promised.

I walked outside watching as he swung his long legs over the bike, starting it up before he put on his helmet and goggles to protect his eyes. When he had finally set up, the others began to turn down our block. Marco rolled out and joined the procession. I waved to everyone laughing when they shouted out their own farewells.

I had gotten so use to Marco being around the house that being alone again was weird. I took advantage of his absence to finish unpacking the remaining boxes. When I had finished that I vacuumed the house from top to bottom before I settled in to watch TV. Around midnight I got a text that the everyone had gotten there okay.

The next two days were filled with prepping for the Taste of Charming fundraiser. We were still in the planning stage. But, Mom had already decided that proceeds would be going to the music department in the middle school. She also had a list of everyone who would me running stands. The two Sam Crow stands would be working side-by-side just like every other year. Mom was making chili, and the police department would be grilling up burgers and hotdogs. There would be a few prize booths, along with a couple raffles.

Bobby had already promised that he would make an Elvis appearance, which the kids always liked. There would also be a bouncy castle, along with an inflatable obstacle course. There would also be few games, like an egg toss, and a water gun fight. It was actually being held on the grounds on and around the middle school so the kids would also have a playground and enough room to run around if they felt so inclined.

Mom had asked if Anna and I would be doing our normal spread, which we were. There was a plethora of baked goods of the sweet and savory variety. There would also be grilled sandwiches, and a few other odds and ends.

"Come on, ladies," Anna prodded. "Let's kick things up a notch so we can get things done tonight."

"We're working as fast as we can," Tori huffed. "We don't have to hurry we have until Thursday."

"Hey, let's just get as much done as we can," I cajoled. "Whatever we don't finish we'll finish tomorrow."

We had shut down the diner to start really preparing the food. This would happen every year: the diner would be shut down forty-eight hours before Taste of Charming because we needed all the surfaces we could get. Everyone in Charming knew this which was why no one even tried to come in, even though, both the front and back doors were wide open along with all our windows, tryin to cool down the place from the constant use of the ovens.

"Who's wrapping things up?" Anna demanded.

"Casey and Brooke!" Kat answered. "Annie, chill out before you give yourself a heart attack."

Anna glared at the older girl before taking a deep breath and nodding in agreement. I think what was making everyone nervous was the fact that none of the guys were back yet. I hadn't gotten any more news other than the we-made-it-here-okay text message from Marco, but that was three days ago.

The bell over the door dinged and I looked up, suspecting to see one of the mechanics. They had been in and out all day, snagging cooling baked goods and dodging any questions about whether they had heard from the guys. Even though some of the mechanics weren't patched, in order to work at TM, you had to be trusted, which means that they could know what was going on. Instead the small form of April Hobart stood hesitantly in the doorway. My eyes widened in surprise, she was the last person I ever thought I'd see.

April had once been an old lady to Kyle Hobart. He had joined Sam Crow around the same time that Opie and Jax had. But, unlike Jax and Opie, Kyle had been kicked out. Kyle was expelled from the club because his actions led to Opie's incarceration, he was supposed to be Ope's get-away ride; instead he had panicked when he had heard the sirens, leaving Opie stranded. Ever since Kyle's expulsion from the club April had kept herself as far away from the lot of us as she could. She had divorced Kyle and stayed in Charming with their two kids.

"April," I finally said wiping my hand off on my apron as I walked out of the kitchen. "It's good to see you."

"Hey, Izzy," April winced. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" I asked suspiciously, not liking the tone of her voice at all. Or the way she was suddenly avoiding eye contact. From what I remembered of April back when she was more apart of the club, she was far from timid. She was smart, one of the few old ladies my mom actually respected.

"Charlie's band is playing during the fireworks tomorrow," April began. "He really wants his dad to come."

"Oh, shit, April, I'm not the one you should be trying to persuade here," I shook my head. "My mother might be able to convince Clay. But even if she can, it's the guys who all have to agree."

"Izzy," April tried.

"April," I interrupted. "This isn't the time or the place I already told you who you should talk to. Now, if your children really want to see their father then I'd talk to the matriarch."

"Izzy," April sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, April," I smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be helping my mother anyway?"

"I was on my way there, actually," April admitted sheepishly.

"I wouldn't keep her waiting more then necessary, then," I mused. "Especially if you're calling in a favor."

"Izzy, I wanna get the rest of this done so we can just pack all this up and heat it up on site," Anna called. "What did April Hobart want?"

"You don't want to know," I shook my head.

"Izzy," Anna growled placing the corn bread on the counter as she glared at me. "Why wouldn't I want to know?"

I sighed and grimaced because for as much as I hated Kyle Hobart, Anna hated him ten times as much. Because it was her big brother who had gotten hit by Kyle's cowardice. It was Anna who watched as his family crumbled and there was nothing Ope could do to stop it. Even now things weren't the way they were and it was all Kyle's fault. If he had just done his job then his kids would still have their father and Opie's life wouldn't be tearing at the seams.

"The kids miss their dad," I sighed.

"So?" Anna growled. "They go visit him. He doesn't need to come here."

"Come on, Anna," I huffed. "You and I both know that the guys would never let him come back. Not after what he did to Ope."

"Yeah," Anna grumbled skeptically.

"Let's just finish cooking and prepping everything, okay?" I mumbled. "Then we can call it a day and relax. Is Juice still down in Nevada?"

"Yup," Anna shrugged. "Told me he'd be back in a week or so. He had to stay behind or something. Told me that the others are on their way back up. They left late last night or early this morning, depending on how you look at it."

The rest of the cooking and preparing flew by far more quickly then I anticipated. I thanked all the girls for helping as we loaded everything into my car and Anna's before we called it a day. We had been cooking for the better part of the day and as the sun slipped down over the horizon. We had finished with the majority of the cooking, leaving the rest of the desert for tomorrow. I yawned and stretched as I took a few trips to get the food into the fridge. By the time I was done, I was hungry and tired. I put on some music before grabbing a corn muffin and wandering into the living room to lounge. I must've dozed off before the next thing I knew someone had slapped my foot. I jerked awake as I flew off the couch and into a defensive crouch.

"I'm going to end up putting a bell on you so you can stop scaring the crap out of me at any given opportunity," I muttered, sitting back on the couch. "You just get back?"

"Yeah," Jax replied.

"How's Uncle Jury?" I asked.

"He's fine," Jax answered, avoiding my eye.

"How's the Devil's tribe?" I questioned, trying to figure out what Jax was keeping from me.

"Gone," Jax stated. "Patch over."

I winced at that. A patch over was when one club absorbed another and while the SOA and the Devil's Tribe use to be one in the same, the Devil's had slowed things down while the SOA had sped things up. My Uncle Jury was another member of my father's unit. Instead of founding the Sons of Anarchy, he had started the Devil's tribe. I didn't really know why Jax and Bobby had gone down there in the first place but then again, sometimes I just didn't ask. If anything I had to pick and chose what I really wanted to know and fairly little things like that was not something I needed to be grilling people over.

"You've seen Marco?" I asked. When Jax didn't answer my heart skipped a beat, "is he okay? Is he hurt? Are you hurt? What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Bella!" Jax reproached placing his hands on my shoulders and giving me a slight shake. "Calm down, everyone's fine. He just crashed at the dorm with everyone else. A bullet did graze him, though. Coug's fine, though, completely patched up."

"Bullet?" I hissed. "When the hell are bullets involved in a patch over?"

"There was a little issue with the Mayans," Jax explained. "But everything's fine. Now would you breathe?"

It was then I noticed that Jax was looking at me in the way that I had just been looking at him. Like was keeping something from him. I racked my brain, only to come up with the obvious answer. If the others were just getting back they didn't know about Kyle…

"What is it?" Jax asked sitting down next to me.

"Nothing," I replied. "You want some food?"

"You're a horrible liar, Iz," Jax scoffed. "Seriously, what's up?"

"It's nothing," I repeated.

I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, knowing that Jax would follow after me. I fixed him a plate of food, unsurprised to see him standing close to me, his spine straight and starring at me intently.

"Don't think you're going to bully me into spilling my guts, Jackson Teller," I growled.

"Izzy," Jax sighed. "If there's something wrong, you know you can tell me."

"And you're going to find out," I agreed. "Just not from me."

I could tell that little tidbit of information didn't sit well with my brother. But, thankfully Jax let it go, instead taking the plate of food and walking over to the breakfast nook. I sat down across from him and we began to talk exchanging things the other had missed since the run had happened.

The next morning found me back in the diner baking my ass off. There were cakes, cookies, pastries, and pie. The ovens were once again going full force, causing the kitchen to be near unbearably hot; causing everyone to be in irritable and quick to snap at one another.

I jumped in surprise when the door was flung open, revealing my brother who looked at me irately. That look never boded well and I flinched despite myself as I walked out of the kitchen avoiding the still boiling hot baking trays that covered nearly all surfaces.

"What's up?" I asked, pretending that Jax wasn't glaring at me.

"Kyle fucking Hobart," Jax hissed. His hands were splayed out on the counter top as he leaned forward, "did you know that he was trying to come? Is that what you didn't tell me?"

"Yes," I said simply. "The only reason why I knew was because April tried to ask me to bring up that issue to you all. When the only person she should've been talking to was Mom. So, don't be mad at me just because April broke the rules."

"He's coming to the Taste of Charming," Jax growled.

"What?" I demanded. "You're kidding."

"Opie wants him to come," Jax rolled his eyes.

"If Opie beats the shit outta him, Mom'll kill him," I frowned. "Opie wants the guy who got him sent to prison to be allowed back in Charming? He was excommunicated."

"I know that," Jax huffed. "I just thought I'd warn you because if Opie doesn't beat the crap outta him, Anna sure as hell would."

"No way," I shook my head. "There's no way I'm dropping that bomb. You tell her."

"Pussy," Jax taunted.

"No I'm smart," I replied. "She once punched a football player in the eye because he told her she had a nice ass and smacked it."

"We told you guys to do that to idiots like that," Jax stated. "Besides that was a really nice black eye. I remember that one."

"Hey Jax," Anna greeted coming out of the back with another ray of cookies. "What's going on?"

"Well, I just came to give you guys the heads up," Jax announced, "the club is letting Kyle come tomorrow."

"Are you fucking kidding?" Anna snapped. "Who the hell said 'yay' to that?"

"Your brother wants to see how bad he is without the club," Jax responded.

"God damn it, Opie," Anna mumbled before walking back into the kitchen cursing the entire way and startling two of our newer employees.

"I think she handled that well," Jax mused.

The sad thing is that Jax was right. I knew that she was pissed and would continue to be pissed about this. The way expletives were flying and pots were banging around in the kitchen led me to believe that she wouldn't be cooling off anytime soon.

"I can't believe Opie actually wants to see the prick," I huffed. "Hasn't Kyle done enough? He's poison Jax. He always has been. Kyle Hobart doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself and-"

"Iz," Jax snapped, cutting my tirade off before it could gain any more speed. "I know, alright? None of us are happy about this but he'll stay away from everyone. He just wants to see his goddamn kids."

"Yeah, cause he cared so much about them when he cheated on their mother at every opportunity," I snarled. "He's up to something, Jax, you know he is. If that asshole tries to talk to me or Anna, we're not responsible for what we do."

I could tell that little declaration didn't sit well with my brother who seemed like he wanted to say something; but quickly thought better of it. He kissed the top of my head before walking back outside. I turned to go back into the kitchen, wincing as Anna continued to bang around.

"I'm going to punch his fucking face in," Anna snarled.

I couldn't decide whether she wanted to punch her brother or Kyle. Knowing Anna it was probably a little of both. While the boys had stripped Kyle of his patches, the ultimate punishment, short of death, of course, Anna still felt like Kyle had gotten off easy. And I agreed with her to a point. In this kind of lifestyle your club and your family was all you had. If you were banished you had nothing. Once in exile you couldn't contact anyone, or they would kill you. Leave it Hobart to find a way to talk to them without directly defying the exile.

"Good," I smirked. "But in the mean time, you mind not taking it out on the equipment?"

"Bitch," Anna laughed.

"Right back at you, sweet heart," I grinned.

"You two are the most dysfunctional people, I've ever met," Tori sighed.

"Thanks, Tor," I teased. "That's quite the accomplishment in this town."

"Damn straight," Anna muttered. "We done?"

"Looks like," I nodded. "Let's pack it up ladies. Gemma wants us at the middle school grounds, bright and early tomorrow morning."

Once again we loaded everything into the cars, we locked up before sending everyone on their way. I drove back to the house and carted everything in, thankful that I had a big enough fridge for everything. I smiled as I heard the roar of a back of motorcycles, it never ceased to amaze me how things went back to normal so quickly after runs. The door blew open as Marco, Jax, Chibs, Tig, and Half-Sack strolled into the house.

"'Ello Darlin'," Chibs greeted kissing me on the cheek.

Tig and Jax offered similar greetings while Marco gave me a real kiss, wrapping his arms around me, engulfing me with his large frame.

"Hi, Half-Sack," I greeted after I had hugged Marco, I moved forward to give Half-Sack a kiss on the cheek. "Can I get you boys anything?"

"I'm fucking starving, lass," Chibs stated. "Ya got anything to eat?"

"Chibs, I've been cooking for _Taste of Charming_ for the past 48 hours, if you're hungry, you've come to the right place. Help yourselves, just don't eat it all."

I leaned against the opening of the kitchen, watching as the guys moved easily around each other filling each other's plates with food without even bothering to ask what anyone wanted. It was moments like this that showed how close the lot of them truly were. It was scenes like this that were deeply rooted in my childhood. Some of my first memories were at the family dinners that my mother made. Me toddling around being passed around by these rough 'n' tough outlaw bikers. These hardened guys who melted at the sight of a baby. Barely anything had changed. Some of the older members had switched charters, people died, people were in jail.

"What are you thinking about?" Marco asked, sliding up to me.

"Just remembering our childhoods," I smiled. "This scene feels like it's right out of Ma's scrapbooks."

"Club bonds run deep," Marco nodded. "Things like that won't change."

"I hope not," I replied.

"You seem dead on your feet, Izzy," Jax stated standing in front of Marco and I. "You been getting enough sleep?"

"Yes," I sighed. "Just tired is all."

"Maybe you should head to bed, Iz," Marco cajoled.

"We're entertaining," I protested.

"You don't need ta entertain us," Chibs butted in. "We're family."

"All right, all right," I groaned. "You all better be at _Taste of Charming_ tomorrow."

I told everyone goodbye before I wandered down the hallway to our bedroom shutting the door behind me. I stripped out of my clothing before putting on one of Marco's old Sam Crow shirts. I crawled under the covers and quickly falling asleep

The next morning came to damn quickly. It didn't even feel like a Saturday with all the work we had to do. I woke up wrapped in Marco's arms as our alarm clocks rang. Mutual groans and hands moved to turn them off. I swung my legs out of bed as I wandered into the bathroom to take a quick shower. By the time I was ready, Marco was ready to go. There were plenty of reasons why I loved him. One of them was how fast he could accomplish things, he had shaved minutes of our prep time by loading up my car.

"Thanks, baby," I smiled.

"No problem," Marco responded.

He gave me a kiss and together we saddled up and rode over to the middle school. All the tents were pitched and things were already cooking as Anna was running around helping out various companies who had tents. Marco had helped set up the more mechanical things before jetting off to TM, promising that he'd be back with help. All the other old ladies of various club members quickly surrounded my car pulling out food. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would to get everything set up.

Things went even faster as more sons came to help. Before long there was a row of motorcycles in the parking lot with three more roaring in the distance. _Taste of Charming_ had already been off to a decent start, with Anna and I manning our booth. It had been placed next to Moms and both were doing very well so far.

Suddenly Anna punched me hard in the arm, causing me to bite back a curse as I glared at her. I had known her my entire life, which was the only reason why I didn't punch her back. Instead I followed her gaze and watched as Opie and the rest of his family arrived seconds before Kyle. He was driving a gray truck and had a blonde bimbo on his arm.

"That son of a bitch," Anna seethed

Luckily, Half-sack had been instructed to stay in our tent otherwise Anna probably would've shot, stabbed, or otherwise injured Kyle before he even had a chance to be on the grounds. Half-sack easily restrained my pregnant friend, whispering something in her ear. Whatever Half-sack had said worked because Anna went back to working, with only slightly more zealousness than she was previously showing. Just as quickly as Anna's anger surged it went away, replaced with a maniacal smirk that did little to comfort.

"What?" I asked.

"I love your brother," Anna smiled.

I looked up to see that Jax had slammed Kyle against the wall, looking like he was seconds away from punching him. Part of me really wished he would've but I could tell that Mom was watching the same scene we were. Only she was daring Jax to do something at this event that meant so much to her. He backed off, sneering at Kyle before walking away.

"Hey," Mom greeted as Jax walked into our split tents. "How are the guys handling Kyle."

"Nothing to handle, Kyle's dead," Jax replied.

"Not to Opie," Mom frowned.

Poor Opie, he was sitting by the boxes of fireworks looking over at Kyle with something unreadable in his gaze. Anna and I shared a glance before frowning. This was a hard adjustment. It was hard to see Donna trying to pull Opie away from the club. But, I knew that nothing short of death would pull Opie away from Sam Crow, regardless of how much he loved his family. The club was all he knew and the sooner Donna realized that the better it would be for everyone.

The rest of the day passed with little incident. Or at least as little as things could get around here. I saw Jax talk to Donna, and I knew that he was telling her the same thing I was thinking of. I knew that because Donna looked close to tears and it hurt to see her like that. I wished she'd understood this life more. But, I knew some people would just never understand, no matter what we said. Bobby was doing his Elvis impersonation and having a ball, entertaining the kids, posing for pictures, the whole nine. I smiled at Chief Unser as he stopped by Mom's tent.

"Who's the guy behind the grill?" Mom asked pointing at the guy in the apron.

I looked up and saw that he was grilling front and center, mingling with people, laughing and smiling like he'd been here his whole life. Every so often we caught one another's eye and a shudder ripped through me. Honestly, I thought it took a lot to shake me, after everything I've seen in this world but it felt like his eyes were ripping me apart in a way that made me feel like a common streetwalker. I walked over to stand by my mother as I waited for Unser to answer.

"That's our new best friend, Agent Koln, ATF," Unser explained.

"The Fed looking into the club is grilling sausages?" Mom sneered.

"Most be apart of that special training o' his," Unser quipped before walking away.

"There's a fed looking into the club?" I asked.

"Yeah, baby," Mom sighed "But don't worry. He won't get anything."

I nodded my head in agreement as I walked back to my booth. While I never had trusted police or the like of any kind. They normally never made me feel that way. There was something off about Agent Koln. Something that told me that he was more dangerous then some of the other Outlaw MCs. The fact didn't sit well at all.

As Jax, Bobby, and Tig walked by our booths, Mom moved out and directly into Jax's way. She splayed her hands out, knocking into his shoulders, startling him instantly as he looked at her in confusion.

"You tell Clay, I'm pissed off," Mom snapped. "Bad enough his sorry ass isn't here. Now he's taking all my man power."

"Who's that guy with the cops?" Jax asked.

"That's your ATF guy," Mom stated.

"That guy was at the hospital last night watching me with Abel," Jax told us.

"That's dangerous, brother," Tig responded.

"Shit," Mom cursed.

"You guys keep an eye on him," Jax ordered. "If he follows us out of here or leaves at any point you give me a call."

"Pre-pay?" Mom asked.

"Yeah," Jax responded before he followed Tig and Bobby.

"Something's going on," Mom growled. "And I don't like it."

Mom and I exchanged a glance, showing exactly how unsettled we were by not knowing what was going on. It was obvious that something was going on and it wasn't just because Kyle was back in Charming. Although, that tension did little to help things. Especially when I saw Opie and Kyle together. I think it was at that point where I went into autopilot, talking and mingling with people, but not processing anything else. Things were weird enough with any more bullshit being added to the mix.

As dusk settled, Opie had made a reappearance after disappearing hours before, setting up the fireworks. I watched Mom talk to April before talking to Opie. Anna and I exchanged glances knowing that things were probably not going all that great for Kyle. I assumed that Kyle was with the others because his bimbo and his truck were still here. With Mom suddenly gone, I ordered both tents to start packing up the leftovers and divide it up between everyone. There wasn't all that much but it was enough for everyone to take home a few more meals.

It had been quite the successful night. Based on how many people, we'd be able to give a decent donation to the music department. Once some of the leftovers were packed in my car I said goodbye to the stragglers, getting in my car and driving home. When I got there it was obvious that Marco wasn't home yet. I wondered what was going on, no one had told me why there was a run to Indian Hills, if the patch over was just because the Mayans were apparently circling for a percentage of the tribe's profits. But, it like there were another reason why all of this was suddenly coming together.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed a small white card taped to the front door. I pulled it off, flipping it over. I didn't know what I expected there to be, the mail had come by hours ago, and had never been taped to the door. Somehow though I didn't expect to see small blocky handwriting simply saying, **Remember?**


	7. Belle of the Brawl

**Chapter Seven: Belle of the Brawl**

_"I'm tough, rough, ready and able._

_To pick myself up from under this table,_

_Don't stick no sign on me, I got no label._

_I'm a little sick, unsure, unsound and unstable."_

**Anna's Point of View**

My house was a mess, not that I was surprised, it was always a mess. Somehow I never got the hang of compulsively cleaning like Izzy always liked to do. It was hard to imagine that Iz was once a teenager with a room as equally messy as mine had always been. Now that Juice was staying here more often than at the clubhouse, the house seemed even messier. I stepped over random piles of clothes moving to grab my mail.

I kicked the front door behind me, rifling through the mail. Bill, bill, bill, junk mail, Cosmopolitan, bill, and an unmarked letter. I tossed most of it down on the coffee table, grabbing the plain white letter. I opened it to reveal a small white postcard. All that was on the paper was a small sentence written in blocky handwriting.

**Remember, remember the thirtieth of September.**

I glanced at the envelope the postcard came in and saw no return address, stamp, or even my address. It had just been dropped into my mailbox, I guess. But why would someone do that? I didn't think much into it, instead, I crumbled it up throwing it into one of the trashcans. I had gotten stupid mail like that in the past but it still felt like it was supposed to mean something. Something important that I wasn't remembering.

Since Juice was still in Indian Hills, running the newest chapter of the SOA through the paces, I decided to just go to sleep. I placed my pre-paid on my nightstand knowing the rules about it, backwards and forwards. It was supposed to be charged and ready. When it rang you answered, no matter what you were doing or where you were. Juice had already told me that if he called he'd be calling the pre-paid just to be safe. I changed into one of Juice's wife beaters and a pair of terry short shorts, climbing into bed. I was asleep a few minutes after my head hit the pillow.

**September 30, 1997. 6:30 pm.**

_Annie, get down here!" Pop ordered, shouting up the stairs._

_I put the book I was reading back on my desk. It was something simple we had been assigned for English class. A Midsummer's Night Dream and so far it wasn't that bad. The way our teacher asked questions about every single minute thing. That part of it was irritating._

_"What's up, Pop?" I asked._

_"Have you seen Izzy?" Pop asked._

_"Not since school," I responded. "She didn't want to wait for Macro and I, started walking home by herself."_

_"Shit," Pop growled. _

_"Why?" I asked suspiciously. "Where's Izzy?"_

_"She never went to the shop and she wasn't home when Jax went to check on her," Pop frowned. "And she's not answering her cell phone."_

_Most kids our age didn't have a cell phone but our parent's thought it was for the best if we had it. It was incase something happened and our parents needed to get in touch with us. I guess it was one of the perks of being a club kid._

_"Maybe she left it somewhere," I shrugged._

_ It seemed like Izzy was always forgetting her cell phone somewhere. Leaving it in Gem's car or at TM, or any of our houses. It wasn't exactly something to freak out about. The cell phone was missing more often than it was in Izzy's possession. Although the fact that she wasn't home or in TM was a little odd._

_"She has to be here somewhere," I whispered._

_"Well, Clay and the others are looking for her," Pop said. "I want you to stay here. Don't leave and keep the door locked."_

_"You're going to look for her too?" I asked._

_"Of course," Pop stated. "Something's is going on, you have to admit Izzy vanishing isn't normal. Whatever is going on, I'd feel better if I knew you were safe."_

_"Don't worry, Pops, I'll stay put," I promised._

_I waited around at the house for hours, passing the time by doing homework but as one hour turned into two, then three, then four I became more worried. Charming was a small town, there were only a few places where Izzy could hide. Although, she hadn't even hinted at running in school today. But, where else could she be? When Opie and Pop finally came through the door at two in the morning, I thought that they had found her._

_"Well, where is she?" I asked immediately._

_"You should be in bed," Pop glared at me._

_"I can't sleep," I responded. "I wanna know what happened to Iz."_

_"We didn't find her," Opie told me._

_"We found her backpack and cell phone a few blocks from the middle school," Pop sighed._

_"And?"_

_"There was blood on the backpack," Pop frowned._

_"You're lyin'," I whispered._

_But I knew by the defeated and worried look on my father's face that he wasn't lying at all. He had told me the truth even though he didn't want to. Pop wasn't the most affectionate of fathers, he hugged Opie and I, and we knew he loved us but he had a hard time conveying that. Not that you would know that from the way he closed the distance between us, pulling me into his chest as I began to cry._

_"We're going to find her, Anna Banana," Pop whispered. "Clay tapped another charter. If Izzy's crossed state lines a Son will find her. She's coming home."_

_Izzy did come home, three days later. Although it was more Izzy's body than her spirit. She wouldn't talk, refused to look any one in the eye. My once confident best friend now trembled at every loud noise. The sound of motorcycles freaked her out and she had panic attacks all the time. And, all that was the mental shit, physically she had been beaten and stabbed. She had been handcuffed, so tightly that when she had moved to struggle it had cut nearly to the bone._

I shot awake, covered in sweat and breathing erratically. Jesus Christ, I had almost forgotten about what happened all those years ago. Of course I remembered I mean Izzy still got panic attacks, had gotten diagnosed with Panic Disorder. And she still had the scars around her wrists, reminding me about how close I came to losing my best friend. I jumped even further when I realized that the pre-pay was ringing. Without looking at the caller ID I answered the fun trying to calm my breathing down.

"Baby?" Juice said from the other line. "Baby, you there?"

"Hey," I finally whispered.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Juice questioned.

"No," I muttered. "I'm awake."

"What's wrong, Annie?" Juice asked. "You sound upset."

"Just a nightmare," I shrugged it off. "Hey, can you look something up for me, baby?"

"Of course," Juice replied.

"Can you run Jackals MC through your databases?" I asked. "They collapsed in '97 but can you see if there's any recent activity."

"…Baby?" Juice mumbled. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's not important right now," I said, firmly. "Just don't mention it to the guys."

"I won't," Juice groaned. "This sounds really bad, Annie, I hope you noticed that."

"Yeah, I did."

"I'll call you back when I get some info."

"Thanks, babe," I whispered. "I love you."

"God, baby, I miss you so much."

"I miss you too," I replied.

**Izzy's Point of View**

"Hey, Iz, some chick in hospital scrubs is askin' for you," Janice told me.

I looked up from the books to acknowledge what Janice had said. I noticed that the girl's hair was still bleached; only now there were streaks of blue, purple, red, and pink throughout it.

"You on break?" I asked as I walked by the younger girl.

"No, I'm the only one working the floor," Janice said. "I just saw the Doc, figured she was here for you."

"Thanks, sweetie," I responded.

I found Tara sitting at the counter a cup of coffee between her hands. I studied her as I approached and noted that she looked tired. Dark circles under her eyes stood out clearly on her surprisingly pale skin. Normally she was slightly more tanned and put together. However today her scrubs were wrinkled and her hair was carelessly tied back instead of being tied back neatly in a bun.

"Tara?" I whispered as to not startle her. "You okay?"

"No," Tara sighed. "Haven't been sleepin'."

"Is there a reason for that?" I questioned lightly. "Is it the same reason why you had a gun in your purse?"

"I'm not talking about it," Tara said tightly.

"Then why'd you come here, Tare?" I asked, smirking. "Wasn't for the coffee."

"Your coffee's pretty good," Tara frowned.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged. "If you ever wanna come clean about why you're really in Charming and why you feel the need to be packin' heat, you know where I am."

"Thanks," Tara whispered.

She went to put money on the table to cover the coffee but I told her that family ate for free. Tara looked surprised that I had referred to her as family before her expression blanked and she pocketed her wallet.

"I gotta be getting back."

Without waiting for my response she jumped off the stool and nearly bolted from the diner.

"Hey, Jan, if Annie comes back from the shop can you tell her I had to do something?" I called.

"No problem," Janice replied.

With that I quickly ran after Tara knowing that whatever was going on was bad. So bad that she wasn't sleeping, so bad that she was carrying a gun, so bad that she had run home. And the worst part was that she was trying to deal with all of this by herself. Whatever it was it seemed to be consuming her.

I realized a second after I touched her shoulder that I probably should've announced by presence. Before I had time to truly regret the bad move, Tara had moved elbowing me in the face as she turned around. Blood poured instantly as tears sprang into my eyes. God damn that hurt. I let out a squeak as my hands cupped my bleeding nose. It wasn't broken but there was no way that this wasn't going to bruise.

"Oh, my god, Izzy," Tara gasped. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Shit," I cursed. "You hit everyone who taps ya on the arm?"

"Come on," Tara ordered ignoring my question. "At least let me fix you up."

"I'm fine, Tara," I replied.

"You really should get that looked at," Tara disagreed. "It'll only take a second."

"Fine," I grumbled. "There's a first aid kit at the diner."

"St. Thomas'…"

"I rather not have to use my insurance on a busted nose," I scoffed. "You wanna play Doctor, fine. But, you'll do it on my terms."

"Jesus Christ," Tara growled. "Still so stubborn."

I smiled widely at that. Knowing that the smile took on more of a sinister edge since there was probably blood on my teeth. "Saying that like it's a bad thing."

"Come on, brat," Tara shook her head.

I heard the cheerful ding of the bell above the door as Tara led me back in. I heard a few gasps but ignored them as I walked back towards the office. Janice had handed Tara the kit that we had hidden on the shelves under the counter top. She quickly disinfected the cut that was on the outside of my nose and got the bloody nose to stop.

"Remarkable job, Doc," I said.

"You're welcome, Iz," Tara laughed. "I'm really sorry. But, I gotta be getting back."

"Hey, Tara," I called after her; rising from the chair that I had sat on while Tara worked her magic. When she turned around I continued. "Whatever's going on…I know it's bad. And I respect you for trying to deal with it alone but sometimes you need back up. People to help you deal with whatever it is."

Tara didn't answer, not that I really expected her to. Instead she seemed to mull over what I had said before acknowledging it with a nod of her head before turning on her heel and walking out of the diner. Just as I was about to leave the back office the phone began to ring. I sighed walking back to the ringing phone.

"The Crow-" I announced.

I didn't get to finish the rest of the greeting because Ma interrupted me. "Hey, baby. The boys are hungry."

"Okay," I replied. "I'll get their order in."

"Thanks, Darlin'," Mom said. "I'll see you soon."

"No problem, Ma," I replied. "I'll bring things over as soon as I can."

"Wait," Mom called before I hung up the phone. I brought the device back to my ear, "Yeah?"

"Luann's PI got info for us," Mom told me quietly. "She lived in a nice area of Chicago. But two months back she filed a restraining order. The name was omitted from the report."

"Maybe the guy didn't listen to the piece of paper?" I suggested. "Might be enough to send her running home."

"Yeah," Mom grumbled. "Still don't trust her."

"Mom…"

"She hurt this family," Mom growled. "That shit doesn't get forgiven."

Mom didn't give me a chance to respond, hanging up the phone with a click. To say that Mom held grudges might just be the understatement of the century. In her eyes forgiveness unless for family never comes easy. And even for the family you had to work your ass off to her trust back. Mom never really liked Tara, not even when her and Jax were just friends.

That might've been because Tara's parents hated the MC, so Ma didn't exactly trust their daughter to not have that same hatred somewhere. But, when Jax and Tara began to date, Mom warmed up to her, slightly. Any and all progress that had been made from the time they started dating the summer before Jax's sophomore year to the summer before Tara's freshman year at college had been decimated the second Tara chose to leave.

"Hey Kat, the guys placed their order," I announced when I reached the window separating the kitchen from the front of the diner.

"Got it," Kat answered. "Same old?"

"Yup," I replied.

When the last of the boy's food had been cooked I loaded them into two large plastic bags, carrying them to my car. It wasn't until I was parked next to Mom's car that I remember that my nose was busted. I looked in the rearview mirror and sighed. Even through the small white bandage that went from one side of my nose to the other, I could see a wide cut across it, along with some bruising.

"Hey, Iz," Half-sack greeted as I stepped out of my car. "How are…? Holy shit."

"Thanks, Sack," I muttered. "Way to make a girl feel special."

"I…uh…I didn't…uh," Half-sack stumbled.

"It's okay, Kip," I soothed. "Christ, you need to calm down I was joking."

"Oh," Half-sack whispered.

"You mind grabbing one of the bags?" I asked.

"Sure, no problem."

I smiled in thanks as I grabbed the other bag bringing them to the picnic tables outside the shop. I figured since it was such a nice day and all the guys were out in the shop already they'd appreciate not having to walk far to get their food.

"Food's here!" Half-sack shouted into one of the bays.

The boys came milling out taking the boxes I'd hold up. I could identify most by the rings each one wore. Each ring was connected to the MC somehow, but just like the tattoos it was up to each one's interpretation. I had just given someone their food when someone grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around.

"The hell?" Marco growled. "Who hit you?"

"It was an accident," I responded. "I snuck up on Tara and she reacted."

"You serious?" Marco laughed. "That's a solid shot to the face."

"She elbowed me," I shrugged.

"In the face," Marco clarified.

I glared at him and his smirk widened into a smile. At least he didn't seem as murderous anymore. Although the fact that he was laughing was somewhat annoying as well. His look clearly said that he was amused that Tara Knowles, of all people, had gotten the drop on me.

"Guess you're getting' rusty, jailbait," Tig teased, having heard the entire exchange. All the guys had.

"I'm twenty-four, shit head," I retorted. "And you guys taught Tara to fight."

"No, we didn't," Bobby disagreed. "She learned all by herself. Although, I think Chibs taught her that elbow trick. Looks like it's pretty effective."

Marco grinned at me before kissing me softly. I curled into my old man's side, turning to look around the compound. I heard the unmistakable rattle of a truck seconds before it made its way onto the lot. Juice was driving it, driving towards the loading bay. The loading bay was directly behind where the guys parked their bikes and they use it for when trucks broke down or when they had the AKs to worry about. It did look like the guns had made their way back home. I had heard that was part of the reason for the patch-over at Indian Hills, we needed someplace to store the guns that wouldn't lead straight back to us. At least, that's what I figured because those oil barrels was how we got the AKs into the country, under the radar.

"Who the hell is that?" I demanded, uncurling for Marco's side to try to look at the new person on the lot.

When Juice had gotten out of the truck, a small statured girl, maybe even shorter than me had hopped out of the passenger side door. She was wearing turquoise short shorts, a black tank top and clunky motorcycle boots.

"Her name's Cherry," Marco whispered, a restraining arm wrapping around my waist. "She's a tribe hang around."

"Uh-huh," I muttered.

I watched as Jax and Clay walked across the lot, towards the truck. I raised an eyebrow when Clay closed the distance between himself and Juice; grabbing the younger man by the back of his neck, scowl on his features as he barked something. I was too far away to hear the specifics of the conversation but judging by the stormy expression on Clay's face, he wasn't happy.

Whatever was going on escalated as Cherry got involved saying something to Clay who in return stuck his finger in her face, snapping something. At the same time Jax had slapped Juice upside the head, leading me to wonder exactly who this bitch was. A tribe hang around wouldn't normally be causing this much trouble.

"Who is she?" I snapped.

"Chill out, Izzy," Marco soothed. "She doesn't matter."

"Matter's enough to Dad," I shrugged.

I ignored Marco's sigh of annoyance my eyes once again roamed the lot. I noticed that Half-sack was just standing there, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Izzy, leave it alone," Marco growled.

He attempted to grab my wrist but I dodged his movement, moving purposefully towards the prospect. Kip clutched a business card in one hand but he didn't move.

"Hey, Sack," I greeted.

"Izzy," Half-sack whispered.

"Who's the skank?" I asked. "And don't just say she's a sweet butt."

"I can't," Half-sack shook his head.

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yeah, really," Marco answered for him, steering me away. "You know you could've gotten him in trouble."

"Just wanna know what's going on," I retorted.

"Bells, please, just let it go," Marco pleaded.

"Fine," I sighed. "For now. I gotta get back."

Marco rolled his eyes before he kissed my forehead. It wasn't his normal sweet kisses; this one was more out of irritation and reluctance to let me go. Especially when he knew I'd find out exactly why a new sweet butt was causing drama. I took slid into my mustang, smirking as the engine rumbled to life. I peeled out of the lot, driving out of the back gate. I didn't have to drive far before I noticed the Nevada sweet butt.

"Hey," I called. "You need a ride?"

"My parent's told me not to except rides from strangers," Cherry snarked.

"You're a long way from home, sweet heart," I laughed. "You use to be one of the girl's my Uncle Jury bragged about right?"

At that the girl stilled turning towards the car with an unreadable expression on her face. With a sigh she walked around the car and slid into the passenger's seat. She gave me an appraising look, settling into her seat.

"So, who are you?" Cherry asked.

"Isabelle Teller," I introduced. "And, you're Cherry?"

"Yeah," Cherry muttered. "I didn't realize I was in the presence of MC royalty."

"So, you hopped on a truck going to some place that you've probably never even heard of," I began driving towards the diner. "How's that smart?"

"Nevada wasn't doing it for me anymore," Cherry replied.

"You here for something specifically?" I questioned.

"I'm here for your prospect," Cherry explained. "Half-sack."

"He's a good kid," I said.

"Yeah, he sees me for me," Cherry sighed. "Didn't treat me like I was just some slut with two sets of lips."

The girl had some wit; I'd give her that. Still I flashed back to her sudden appearance at TM. Jax and Clay's reactions would be completely ridiculous if she was just here for Kip.

"My dad didn't look like he was happy to see you," I noted. "Wanna explain what that's about?"

"What do you think?" Cherry retorted. "Hm?"

"If you're insinuating what I think you are," I grimaced, now thoroughly grossed out. "I'd get out of Charming before my mother got a hold of you."

"What happens on a run stays on a run," Cherry shrugged.

I parked my car next to Anna's, sparing the new girl a laugh as I shook my head. "They're not on a run any more, sweetheart. You fucked the mother charter's president then followed him home. That's not smart."

"I told you," Cherry hissed. "I'm not here for him!"

"Doesn't matter," I replied. "Now get outta my car. I gotta work."

When Cherry got out of the car, I clicked the automatic lock, moving into the diner. I walked behind the counter.

"Hey, Kat," I called.

"Hey, Iz," Kat smiled. "Been packed since you've been gone."

"Anna hasn't shown up yet?" I asked.

"Nope," Tori said, moving past the window to put a salad on the pass. "Said that TM needed help today."

I nodded my head grabbing the salad and bringing it over to old man Perkins. Of course Anna would be close to TM on the day that Juice was supposed to be coming back. When I came back to stand near the pass, I saw that Cherry had made her way inside and was now sitting across from me.

"So, you hate me?" Cherry asked. "Because I blew your father on a run?"

"Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart," I laughed. "I don't hate you. I was just warning you. If you think my mother is going to let you walk around here, on her home turf after you _blew my father_, then you don't know Gemma Teller Morrow."

Cherry seemed to mull over what I had said as she glanced around the diner, "What is this place?"

"Welcome to the Crow Diner," I said.

"The Sons own this too?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "They have their hands in things but this is just a simple diner. That happens to be run by some of the daughters of the original nine."

She glanced around taking in all of the murals before landing on all the pictures. It was a play of the SAMCRO wall in the clubhouse. The Sam Crow wall was one of cooler things in the clubhouse. It was a collection of each member's first mug shot. All of the mug shots were taken after their first arrest on behalf of the club.

It had been Anna's idea that since the women, old ladies and daughters alike weren't honored on the Sam Crow wall, we'd put our mug shots up here. They were in the hallway next to the office. It was in plain sight and we were pretty proud of it. Everyone who worked at the diner had their picture up, along with Mom and most of the other old ladies I had grown up with. The wall was one of my favorite aspects of the diner, and it was someone everyone seemed to like. Well, except for our patrons, it made them uneasy, well, some of them were uneasy, most just accepted it for what it was.

"You want anything?" I questioned. "Coffee?"

"That'd be great," Cherry smiled.

I grabbed the pot of coffee and poured a quick cup, carrying that over with a small container of cream and pointed out the sugar packets sitting near the ketchup. I was talking to Kat in the back of the diner, each of us enjoying a cigarette break when Amanda came rushing out of the back door.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"There's ATF agent sitting at the counter," Amanda said. When neither Kat nor I looked impressed, Amanda continued, "it's a woman."

At that tidbit of information Kat and I exchanged irritated glances before stomping out the rest of our cigarettes and walking back inside. In our experiences woman agents were more of a pain in the ass. Kat went to tell Tori, and call Anna and the guys to warn them. I went to the front where a strawberry blonde woman dressed in a black pant suit. I saw the ATF badge clipped to her hip as she looked around.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Hi there," The woman smiled widely.

"What brings you to Charming, Agent," I asked.

"Isabelle Teller cutting right to the chase," The woman shook her head.

"What's the matter, Agent?" I grinned. "Afraid to walk around without your badge?"

"Agent Stahl, ATF," The woman introduced. "What do I have to do to get a cup of coffee?"

"Just ask," I replied.

I filled another coffee cup, passing it to the woman as I moved to the opposite end of the counter. I noticed that Cherry was gone, the only thing that spoke to the fact that she was there was the abandoned coffee cup on the counter.

"Hey, Iz, phone," Janice called.

"If you'll excuse me, Agent," I whispered.

I walked back and closed the door to the office and picked up the phone, "Yeah?"

"Is it true?" Anna asked. "There's another ATF agent here?"

"Yup, sitting down having a cup of coffee as we speak," I informed.

"God damn," Anna hissed. "Oh, shit, Iz, what does this bitch look like?"

"Strawberry blonde, wearing a black pant suit," I said.

"She's at TM," Anna whispered.

"What's going on?" I asked when Anna fell silent. "Annie?"

"They just arrested Clay," Anna growled.

"For what?"

"No charges yet," Anna said. "I don't trust that bitch."

"She's a fucking Fed, I don't trust her either," I mumbled. "Oh, no. Annie, the barrels came back today."

"Oh, shit," Anna muttered. "This is fucking terrific. I'm on my way back. I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay," I replied. "I'll see you soon."

When Anna finally made an appearance, about twenty minutes later, she rushed into the diner and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, but I was more than a little confused. Anna wasn't the most affectionate friend I've ever had. Something must've happened that had shaken her up.

"Anna, what is it?" I whispered.

"Nothing," She replied, looking me over, for what, I didn't know. "Just wanted to hug my best friend."

"Did your dad get you high?" I asked.

"No," Anna laughed, glaring at me playfully. "Shut up."

"Seriously, though, what's up?" I asked. "I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

"Nothing is going on," Anna said.

"Okay," I shrugged.

The atmosphere in the dining room was fragile for the rest of the day. The appearance of the ATF agent threw us off our game. I took a much needed cigarette break in the middle of the afternoon. Gratefully inhaling smoke before I exhaled it with a sigh. I didn't make it a habit of not believing people when they told me something, but I knew Anna, and something was up. Something that she didn't feel comfortable telling me, which didn't make much sense, we told each other everything.

My attention shifted from whatever Anna was hiding to whatever was going on up the road. I recognized Cherry walking down the street, seconds before recognizing mom and her car. When Mom grabbed a kid's skateboard I knew instantly that she had found out what Clay had done. I guess that was the biggest loophole Old Ladies had, what happened on a run did stay on a run but the second it walked into Charming, then we were allowed to do whatever we wanted to. In Mom's case that was smacking Cherry across the face with a skateboard in front of twenty witnesses.

"Jesus Christ," I mumbled. "Told her so."

About five minutes later one of Charming's cops rolled up to the pharmacy and after questioning some of the witnesses he arrested mom. I wondered if Charming police knew exactly what they were getting into by bringing my parents under the same roof. It was gonna be explosive, that was for sure. Judging from the fact that Mom had broken someone's nos with a skateboard. I dialed TM and waited for someone to answer.

"Teller-Morrow Automotive, how may I help you?"

"Half-sack?" I asked. "Listen I need to talk to Jax, right now."

"He's a little busy, Iz," Half-sack replied.

"It's important, Kip," I said, sternly. "And it'll only take a minute."

"Okay," Half-sack sighed. "Hold on."

I leaned against the rough brick of the back of the diner waiting for Jax to answer the phone. I looked up and down the block, seeing that things had gone right back to normal after the excitement that took place moments ago.

"Izzy, now is really not a good time," Jax sighed.

"So I've been told," I scoffed. "Listen, I just wanted you to know that Ma just got arrested."

"Arrested?" Jax repeated angrily. "For what?"

"She found out about Clay and Cherry," I replied. "Broke Cherry's nose with a skateboard."

"Jesus Christ," Jax mumbled. "Just what we fucking need. She knows ATF is here."

"Yeah, well, you know the rules just as well as I do, Jax," I shrugged. "She got retribution she felt was owed."

"Well, now Ma and Clay are over at the stationhouse," Jax sighed. "I want you and the girl's to watch yourselves. This is not the time to be drawing any unwanted attention."

"I know," I muttered. "You figure out how to get the stock out of dodge."

"Club business," Jax said sternly.

"Isn't my business," I interrupted. "Yeah, I've heard that shit before. But if you all are doing twenty-five to life in Stockton State, I think that becomes my business."

"We're handling it, Iz," Jax sighed. "I'll talk to you later."

"You'll give me the whole story later?" I asked.

"Didn't I just say that?" Jax grumbled.

"Just clarifying things, big brother," I stated. "Be careful."

"Yeah, you too."


	8. Sweet Deceit

**Chapter Eight: Sweet Deceit**

_"You fear us because you don't understand us."_

**Outsider Point of View**

"If you're federal agent why are you giving us all this?"

"Yours is not to reason why…" The ATF agent whispered.

Jimmy Chase was a suspicious person by nature and the fact that this ATF agent was baring gifts sent a dozen of red flags up. He had been waiting in the wings for years, waiting for the perfect moment of revenge. It was because of the Sons of Anarchy that Jimmy had no one. The Sons had crushed the Jackals ruthlessly, not stopping to listen to reason or pleas. The only reason why Jimmy had been spared was because he was in school when his parents and uncles were murdered.

It wasn't exactly shocking that sometimes MC wars spiraled out of control, left causalities on all sides but once the National President of the Jackals had kidnapped the founding member's youngest and the current president's daughter things became worse. The bitch was saved and all Jimmy had to show for it was no family.

Now, he had a crew again. People who didn't know what happened between the SOA and the Jackals all those years ago. The Jackals 2.0 were gaining ground, waiting in the wings, at least they were until this ATF agent showed up. There was something off about him, something that hinted at a mania, something wasn't quite right. But, he had information on the Sons. More specifically Isabelle Teller, the brat whose fault it was that Jimmy's family was dead. He also had information on Annemarie Winston, another daughter. Agent Kohn had explained that if Isabelle and Annemarie were killed the Sons would be completely distracted. Why Kohn wanted the Sons distracted was no business of Jimmy's. Even if it was he wouldn't care because he was going to get the retribution he was owed. Even if it killed him.

**Izzy's Point of View**

With the Meineke situation under control, things would hopefully be okay. I felt bad for Piney, Meineke was one of his friends. They had been in the same platoon in Nam and now the club had to kill them. Because the murders were a straight line back to the club. Something that could put the entire founding charter behind bars. I didn't even know what would happen if that did happen.

I couldn't stay in the house alone, and really didn't feel like baby sitting over at TM with all the people who hadn't been patched over. Sure, they were nice guys and meant well but there was just something about the lot of them that could wear on ones nerves. Instead I found myself driving over to Saint Thomas.

I made my way through the winding hallways before I found myself in front of Abel's room. The little guy hadn't seemed to have gotten any bigger but his vitals were up. He actually seemed livelier in that little glass box they kept him in.

"Hi, Abel, it's your Aunt Izzy," I whispered down to the baby who was roughly the size of a football. "You're going to get big and strong so we can get you home, where you belong. Your daddy misses you."

"Iz?" A voice called as the door opened.

"Tara, hey," I smiled. "What's up?"

"Just making rounds," She shrugged.

As our conversation continued I noticed how tense Tara looked. The bags under her eyes spoke of many sleepless nights. She also seemed far more jumpy than I ever remember her being.

"Everything okay, Tara?" I asked, finally.

"Yeah," Tara nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine. Perfectly fine."

"You know if you're going to insist on lying, you might want to get better at it," I suggested.

Tara scowled at me before saying, "You wouldn't understand."

"Well, when you remember that I have a lot of experience with 'I-wouldn't-understand, you can come find me," I shrugged.

"Iz," Tara whispered as I moved to go out of the door. She seemed to rally herself before continuing in a stronger tone. "Izzy! Wait. There was a reason I left Chicago."

"Okay?" I prodded.

"I was in a relationship," Tara sighed. "He got violent, I tried to end it and he started stalking me."

"Jesus," I hissed.

"It's that ATF agent that's looking into you guys," Tara explained in a rush. "He's here for me. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about us, Tara," I huffed. "Worry about yourself. Do you still have that gun Jax gave you?"

"Yeah," Tara answered.

"Do you remember how to use it?" I questioned.

"Of course," Tara rolled her eyes.

"Keep it with you," I ordered. "Don't let down your guard. I don't have to tell you that he's dangerous."

"Izzy, please don't tell Jax," Tara pleaded.

"If this guy is ignoring the restraining order, a Fed, and he's followed you all the way back here the there's something wrong with him," I rationalized. "You can't just deal with this by yourself."

"It's my problem," Tara growled.

"It is," I agreed. "Until you came home and Mr. Federal Agent decided he might as well try to bring down the Sons of Anarchy. That's when your problem becomes our problem."

Tara frowned at me but I could tell she understood what I was saying. She knew there was nothing that she could say to change things. Once the SOA was threatened they guys would do whatever they had to do. It didn't matter if I wanted to deal with things by myself, or Tara in this case, they'd do whatever they felt was necessary. No questions asked.

"I'm sorry that he followed me here," Tara whispered.

"Tara, don't be silly," I reproached. "If you didn't he could've killed you. Now you can be protected."

**Anna's Point of View**

"Baby, there's something you aren't telling me," Juice frowned.

I barely had time to get into my house before I was accosted by Juice. He didn't seem angry, more irritated than anything else. Juice was one of the nicest guys in the MC, but when pushed you could see that he fit in with all the other guys. He was holding a bunch of papers in his hand as he glared at me. He closed the distance between us and shut the door, pinning me against it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied.

"The Jackals MC?" Juice questioned. "The SOA crushed them a few years back after the National Prez kidnapped and almost killed Izzy."

"Yeah?" I shrugged. "And?"

"And?" Juice scoffed. "And why would you want me digging into them?"

I avoided eye contact and Juice huffed grabbing my chin to look me in the eye. "You know, I didn't think much of it. I dug into what you asked me to but it wasn't until I found this little card on the top of your garbage."

"You went through my stuff?" I growled, shoving him back a few steps.

"This isn't something you try to keep to yourself, Anna!" Juice snapped. "Or did you forget what they did to Iz?"

"Back off, Juice," I snapped.

"Anna."

"No!" I snapped. "You weren't around then, okay? You didn't see her when she came back. Izzy before the kidnapping was the one who was down for anything. Nothing scared her, she did what she wanted, and when she wanted. After the kidnapping she was afraid of her own fucking shadow. She couldn't go near the shop because the sound of motorcycles were too loud."

"Anna…"

"You weren't there, Juice," I whispered. "I didn't know if she was ever going to be okay again. Even now what happened plagues her. She's still prone to panic attacks. If the Jackals are reemerging, she can't know about it. I'm not sure she'll be able to go through that again."

"Izzy's strong," Juice soothed, tucking me into his arms. "But I can't keep this from the others. If they sent letters to you, they might've sent some to Izzy, or any of the other girls."

"Jesus Christ," I hissed.

Unfortunately, I knew Izzy well enough to know that if she had gotten any letters she would've kept them to herself. I shook my head as I pulled away from Juice walking deeper into the house. I sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh, with the passing weeks my stomach had begun to expand, and it was only a matter of time before the cat was out of the bag.

"Baby, I gotta get back to the clubhouse," Juice announced.

I had heard the pre-pay go off and knew without him even saying anything that he would be needed. There was only one reason why those phones ever went off. He gave me a kiss before he walked back out of the house, shouting an order to lock up. I guess the Jackals were active once more, and the information wasn't exactly comforting.

**Outsider's Point of View: Two Hours Later**

Having the surname of Teller, Winston, Morrow, or Vellenueva in Charming pretty much guaranteed you life in the spotlight. Some of the offspring of the nine founding members of the Sons of Anarchy reveled in it; others hated it, and most just didn't give a shit. One thing that life in a motorcycle club taught you was self-confidence. And being the center of the town gossip at every second of every day certainly tested that confidence.

Jackson Teller was one such person that didn't mind the attention one way or another. He knew that the residents of Charming respected the Sons, some more grudgingly then others but the fact remained that most were grateful that the SOA kept out drugs and big business, allowing the small shops to flourish without things like Starbucks or Wal-Mart getting in the way. Of course the second something went wrong all blame landed at Sam Crow's feet revealing just how easy the citizens could flip on the club.

Personally, Jax loved riding his motorcycle. Of course the entire club loved motorcycles but for him it was different. He loved representing the Sons of Anarchy, loved the Reaper on his bike, and all the men who had his back just because they wore the same patch. There was something much more freeing about riding a motorcycle. The wind in your hair, the ability to weave through car and traffic, and most important the ease of which you could be alone with your thoughts, regardless of whether he was riding with a passenger or with the rest of the club on the run. His mother always said that he took after his father in that regard. John Teller was a thinker too.

Ever since Abel had been born, Jax was doing a lot more thinking. It was due in part to the birth of his son, two and a half months premature and finding his father's manuscript. Those two events were slowly changing the way Jax viewed the club. He was just as loyal as ever but with the loss of their guns, he wondered if it would be that much easier to change directions. The thing that worried Jax was that he didn't know how open to change everyone else would be. It was only the matter of convincing the rest of the Charming chapter because whatever Charming did the rest followed.

Another thing that worried Jax was his younger sister, Isabelle. There was the matter of him being the older one and with the death of their father and brother when they were younger, it put all the more weight on his shoulders. There was the four years that Izzy barely slept from the nightmares. Nightmares of what, Jax was entirely certain, because if he believed his younger sister, she said she didn't remember when she woke up. But, it was the same thing every night consistently for years. She couldn't even remember one night?

Of course even if she didn't, Izzy had the tendency to keep him out of the loop. It was her own way of protecting him, although it drove the elder Teller up the wall. No matter how old Izzy got that habit seemed to remain. One would think she'd learn by now that it was useless to keep secrets but she still did.

Jax barely slowed down his bike as he rode onto his sister's street. The houselights were on and he could see her moving around in the kitchen. To his left and right sides respectively were Cougar and Opie. Cougar and Opie shared the same title Jax did as sons of the founding nine. While Jax, Cougar, and Opie had all embraced their birthright, Opie had been led astray. His wife, Donna had good intentions and reasoning, Opie had just gotten out of prison and she wasn't in any hurry to lose him for another five years. But informing the man to earn straight was easier said than done. While Opie was still working at a saw mill on the outskirts of Charming, he was once again riding with the Sons and attending the weekly meetings, slowly wading his way back into the waters of the outlaw motorcycle world.

Behind the legacies of the SOA were four new prospects. They had approached the club within the past two weeks, and after the last church meeting, it was decided that they could take on a few new members. The first ones to come and ask to join up were Austin and Carter Alexander. The two had first learned about the Sons of Anarchy while on a tour with Cougar in Iraq. He had told the Alexander twins all about the SOA, within reason, of course. It was enough to interest both men, especially when they found that adjusting back to civilian life was far from easy. The two shared the same blue eyes, fair skin, and dark brown hair. Austin was taller than his twin at six foot four, compared to Carter's six feet.

The other two prospects had lived in Charming their entire life and wanted to become apart of what truly was the town's cornerstone. Braden Thompson and Grayson Montgomery came from small families that had always supported what the Sons had done for Charming. Hell, they've done more for the town than Charming PD could ever dream of doing. The four prospects were unsure of exactly where they were going, they only knew not to question anything, especially when the Vice President seemed that angry.

As the cluster of motorcycles rolled to a stop, Braden was surprised that the girl in the house in front of them barely looked up from whatever she was doing. He pulled off his helmet, brushing his black hair away from his gleaming silver eyes as he took in his surroundings. Braden was happy that he had convinced his friend Grayson to join with him. It was something every boy in Charming thought about doing. Joining the Sons of Anarchy, something so exhilarating, so taboo, even though the entire town seemed to turn the other cheek to whatever went on in TM. Grayson's hazel eyes found Braden's as he too pulled his helmet of his shortly shaven black hair, watching as Jax leapt off his bike, slamming his helmet onto his handlebars and storming up to the house, barely pausing to unlock the door before he walked inside, slamming the door behind him.

When the prospects turned to the two remaining Sam Crow members, silently asking what was going on. Opie seemed to answer for both him and Marco when he just shrugged. To either it wasn't really a surprise. When Jax and Izzy fought it was explosive, always had been and most likely always would be.

**Izzy's Point of View**

If I got one more remember note card I was going to punch someone. They never got more specific then that. Every one of them just said 'remember' in the same blocky font. It meant something, I just wasn't sure what it was exactly. But I guess I didn't remember whatever they were trying to get me to remember, something that no doubt irritated the person sending the cards as well as me.

I was furiously cleaning the dishes left over from when Marco and I had eaten breakfast. Some of the others had stopped in for coffee, which was why there were more plates than normal.

"Argh," I muttered cleaning one of the coffee cups. "Remember? Remember what? Fucking spineless note leaving bastards…ow!"

I thought to myself as my brows slammed over angry sapphire blue eyes. The coffee cup that I had been washing only moments before shattered in my clenched fist, sending shards of the cup all over the sink and one thick piece stuck out of my palm.

"Ow!" I hissed. "God damn it."

There was a cut straight across my palm, as I glared at the offending cup angrily. In a fit that could've put some of Anna's to shame. I grabbed another cup hurling it at the wall. One was quickly followed by more as I destroyed anything I could get my hands on.

"Izzy!"

I froze at the startled reprimand turning on my heel to see that Jax had come in from the front hallway seconds after I had thrown a cup at that wall.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jax demanded.

"I decided that I need new dishes," I mumbled flexing my injured hand that suddenly stung a lot more.

Jax looked like he had come up with a rather scathing retort but then his mouth shut with an audible click as he closed the distance between us.

"What happened?" Jax asked.

"Nothin'," I replied.

Jax's gaze turned flinty at the blatant lie before he sighed audibly. He scrubbed a hand down his face before his blue eye lanced into me. I stared back at him uneasily before he finally said, "I know."

"Know what?" I asked.

"The Jackals," Jax clarified. At my wide eyed look he continued, "I know that someone's been leaving you messages because they have been leaving messages for Anna too. Juice looked into it. They've come back."

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen, effectively turning my back on Jax as I walked into the bathroom. I ran my injured hand under the water from the sink before cleaning it out and wrapping it in an ace bandage. By the time that I had finished cleaning my hand, Jax was leaning against the threshold of the door.

"Don't you have anything to say?" He prodded.

"About what?" I scoffed. "The pussy club that kidnapped a thirteen year old girl and chose only now to come back? The same ones who have been sending quasi threatening letters? What am I supposed to say?"

I tried to leave the bathroom; when Jax threw his hand out, so that his hand was on the other side of the threshold, effectively locking me in the bathroom.

"Anything!" Jax exclaimed. "Christ, Izzy, something like this happens you tell us."

"Why? They don't scare me, Jax," I scoffed. "Should they?"

"Bella…"

Jax glared at me as I ducked under his arm and moving back into the hallway. As I was walking out I caught sight of six men in my driveway. I recognized the silhouettes of Opie and Marco but not the others.

"Hey!" I called walking back into the kitchen. "Who are those guys?"

"Prospects," Jax said.

From the set of his shoulder's it was obvious that he was still angry with me but seemed to be getting over it as he stood up straight. "Come on, I'll introduce you."

I grabbed one of Marco's sweatshirts before following after Jax into the cool California evening. All conversation ceased the second I shut the front door behind me. Suddenly I felt like a little kid, hiding behind my father's leg as he introduced me to other charter members.

"Braden, Austin, Carter, Grayson meet my sister, Isabelle," Jax introduced. "Izzy meet the new prospects."

"Tex?" I gasped. "Ace?"

"Bells?" Austin laughed. "You're with Cougar?"

"Yeah," I laughed closing the distance to give the Alexander Twins a hug.

The last time I had seen the twins was when Marco had been discharged from the marines. Tex was Austin's nickname while Carter's was Ace. Those were nicknames that the twins had picked up around the same time that Marco had picked up Cougar. I had no idea that the two were back in the States, let alone in Charming.

"Who are their sponsors?" I asked.

The new boy's eyebrows shot up in surprise at my knowledge of the way the club ran things but Marco, Opie, and Jax barely blinked. A prospect only became a prospect when another club member vouched for them. If the prospect fucked up in any way it would land in the sponsor's shoulder.

"Bobby's sponsoring Austin," Opie said. "Cougs is sponsoring Carter, Opie is sponsoring Braden, and Tig's sponsoring Grayson."

"Nice to meet you guys," I smiled, addressing Grayson and Braden

I walked over and curled into Marco's side, smiling up at him. He kissed the top of my head, wrapping his arms around me.

"You okay?" Marco whispered.

"Yeah" I said. "What's with the random surge of prospects?"

"I told Tex and Ace some stuff back when we were deployed," Marco explained. "Apparently they wanted to join up."

"And the other two?" I questioned.

"They've lived here their entire life," Marco shrugged. "You eat yet?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "I could order some pizza for everyone?"

"If you're up for it, Iz."

"Of course," I grinned. "Come on in, guys."

"Did the Pottery Barn explode in here?" Opie scoffed, eyeing the ceramic carnage in the kitchen.

"You're hilarious," I deadpanned.

"Prospects, you mind cleaning this up?" Jax suggested, settling himself on the couch as Marco turned on the football game.

The four newbie's shot one another a look before heading off to do what Jax had ordered. Because that was an order, frankly, I felt for them, I hated whenever Jax phrased orders as suggestions. It was one of his more annoying traits. When they had finished up the mess in the kitchen, they joined the rest of us in the living room, watching the football game.

When the doorbell rang, I hopped up to answer it. As I moved towards the door a hand grabbed my wrist. Before I could even question why Jax had stopped me, he placed a few twenties in my hand. I opened the door handing the delivery boy the twenties and taking the stack of pizzas in exchange. I kicked the door shut behind me, dropping the stack of pizzas on the coffee table. Sitting in between Jax and Marco, I dug into the pepperoni pizza watching the football game with the rest of the guys.

After eating my fill of pizza, I must've fallen asleep because the next morning I woke up wrapped in Marco's arms on our bed. Yawing I stretched my arms, wincing as my back cracked and my joints popped. Rubbing a hand through my hair in order to smooth it down in some semblance of order.

I was walking towards the refrigerator when the house phone rang. I sighed as I glanced at the caller ID before answering the phone.

"Hi, Ma," I greeted.

"You need to get over to Jax's place," Mom ordered.

"Why?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Someone trashed Abel's room," Mom growled. "Plastered one wall with pictures. Everything's either broken or knocked to the ground, and they pissed all over the floor."

"You call Jax?" I asked.

"I'm calling him right now," Mom said right before she disconnected the line.

Without even bothering to change, I snagged my car keys and bag before running out of the door. I started the car, flooring it out of my driveway and towards Jax's house. I was just pulling into the driveway when Jax flew into the space next to me. We barely glanced at one as we stormed into the house and not stopping until we were in Abel's nursery.

"Look at this shit," Mom snarled.

Together we walked over to the wall that was covered with pictures. Most were pictures of our childhood. Jax sitting on Dad's old bike, with me on his hip, his hand on Jax's shoulder all smiles. There was a picture of Jax, Tommy, and I at the beach, but that picture had an 'X' over each of our faces. There were pictures of Jax and I at the clubhouse, Jax's first bike, and my first car. And then there was a picture of Jax having sex with some random bitch, the picture had to have been taken from outside a window or something.

"Who did this?" Mom questioned

"ATF," Jax snarled moving around to see the extent of the damage.

"Why?" Mom demanded.

"Tara," Jax answered.

His back was turned, which was the only way he could've missed the way Mom's face darkened as her eyes flickered angrily. Mom had hated Tara ever since she had left Charming and she didn't support whatever Jax was doing with her.

"That stupid bitch," Mom snarled after a moment.

"How's it her fault?" Jax snapped turning around to glare at Mom.

When Mom didn't say anything, Jax looked around one more time before he seemed to decide whatever it was he was going to do. "This guy's dead."

"At least," Mom growled.

Before I could say anything to discourage what Jax was thinking he walked out of the room and drove away. I wondered where Jax would even begin to look for the Fed, but if anyone could find him it would be a Son.

"I don't like this," Mom said as we began to clean up the nursery.

"Like what?" I asked as I straightened the crib. At least the bastard hadn't broken it, instead he just turned it over. He broke nearly everything else, for whatever reason.

"Jax and Tara together," Mom clarified. "That stupid bitch already ran out on him once."

"Would you rather he was with Wendy still?" I replied. "At least Tara has a brain. Besides maybe things are different now. She already as the crow."

"That was a mistake too," Mom shook her head. "I don't know what that boy was thinking letting her get that."

I didn't say anything choosing instead to focus on cleaning. I pulled all the photos from the wall, throwing the one of my brother having sex away. The rest I left on the kitchen counter, knowing that most of them had come from his room in the clubhouse.

When the sun had begun to set I became more anxious after not hearing from him in hours. I had kept busy, making sure that Jax's house along with my own was clean. I then went over to the diner and threw myself into balancing the books and checking inventory. I bit my lip as I booted my laptop inputting all the recent numbers. The bell chimed indicating the open door and I straightened to my full height, realizing too late that the front door hadn't been locked. The sign on the door said we were closed and all the lights save for the lights in the office were off.

I couldn't believe that I had left the door unlocked. With the random notes and now knowing that the Jackals were alive and well, it was a stupid mistake to make. Grabbing the gun that Anna and I kept in the office, I crept into the main room, flipping on all the lights as I aimed the gun at whoever had come in. If someone of any affiliation was stupid enough to come into the diner when it was clearly closed, then they'd be getting the shock of their lives. I might've been taken off guard but I was armed.

"Whoa!" Jax exclaimed. "Iz, it's me!"

I flicked on the safety of the shotgun before allowing it to drop to my side. Jax looked around before walking closer.

"You're here alone?" He asked. At my 'duh look' he continued. "You forgot to lock your door."

"Most people aren't stupid enough to walk in," I smirked. "But, yes, I forgot and I know it was a stupid thing to forget. There, lecture over. So is the ATF agent no more?"

"Yup," Jax said. "Shot him in the head."

"Really?" I asked.

It wasn't so much that I was surprised that Jax had killed the ATF agent, as far as I was concerned the guy's fate was sealed the second he had dared to step foot in Charming. Then when he had destroyed Abel's nursery. I turned around and put on a pot of coffee running an assessing eye over my oldest brother. I knew that Jax had killed on behalf of the club, that was how he had gotten his 'Men of Mayhem' patch but I don't think he had ever killed someone like this before. Shooting them in the head at presumably point blank range, avenging the love of his life. This kill hit close to home in a way I don't think it ever had and I could tell it was bothering Jax.

"You were protecting your family," I said, pouring Jax a cup of coffee. "It's no different from how you got that patch."

I touched the men of mayhem patch with my fingertips as I continued, "He was a bad guy, Jax. Now he's a dead bad guy who can't hurt anyone ever again. Don't feel guilty about that."

"Yeah," Jax sighed, drinking from the coffee cup I had placed in front of him.

"I'm serious, Jackson," I stated. "He could've killed Tara. Scared her half to death already. You saved the day, and if anything focus on that. One less scum bag walking around shouldn't make you feel anything but relief. I'm proud of you."


	9. Perfect Mistake

**Chapter Nine: Perfect Mistake**

_"__The belief in a supernatural source of evil isn't necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."_

**Anna's Point of View**

"Anna, what do you think about this new brownie recipe?" Tori asked.

Before I could answer my stomach lurched. I covered my mouth with my hand as I ran to the bathroom, kicking the door open and dropping into the first stall. My knees smarted from landing on the linoleum as I threw up everything I had eaten in the past few hours. Goddamn this kid better get here soon, or I was gonna kill it's father.

"Annie?" Juice asked, walking into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

I was leaning against the porcelain savoring the cool material against my burning face. It was slightly embarrassing how fast I had ran in here, no doubt drawing everyone's attention. I spat into the toilet bowl before I rose awkwardly to my feet. I frowned at him as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Do I look okay to you?" I growled. "My sense of smell is ridiculously high and do you know how much of a pain in the ass that is? I work in a diner, Juice! I need my sense of smell to be normal so the slightest scent doesn't send me running to the bathroom. It doesn't do so well for business."

"You're stressed," Juice sighed.

"No shit!" I shouted. "My best friend in the whole fucking world is being threatened. Some asshole is sending me the same goddamn notes. And she's the only other person who knows that you knocked me up."

"You want this kid just as much as I do, if you're going to keep it!" Juice snapped back. "So, stop giving me that I knocked you up shit. I forgot the condom but you told me you were on birth control."

I bared my teeth but Juice stood his ground, glaring back at me. I huffed before I attempted to brush past him when his hand reached out and grabbed my bicep.

"I love you, Annemarie Winston," Juice whispered. "You can be the biggest bitch I know, maybe even giving Gemma a run for her money but I know you love me and this kid just as much as we love you. And you're lucky that you look sexy with that sneer on your face otherwise…"

I rolled my eyes as Juice rambled on, twisting the lock on the bathroom door before shoving Juice against the wall and pressing my lips against his. He was surprised for a moment before taking control of the kiss, turning us so that my back was pressed against the wall. He grabbed my leg, right behind my knee, lifting it up to rest on his hip as he pushed closer to me. I lifted myself, wrapping both legs around his torso as things quickly became more heated.

As much as I loved Juice, the man could be a bit of a moron, that fact being proven when he ripped my shirt open, sending buttons everywhere. My black, lace bra was suddenly visible as the rest of the shirt was removed from my body. I slid the vest and shirt off him. Just as things were getting so much more passionate someone began to bang on the door.

"It's _ocupado_!" I snarled.

"Anna?" A voice gasped.

"Opie?" I responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my sister," Opie responded. "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks, kid."

I glared at Juice who this time at least had the decency to look ashamed. I was now standing in my diner's bathroom shirtless. Before I could come up with something I heard the tumblers click seconds before the door was swung open and Opie walk into the bathroom. I saw the lock picks in that paw he called a hand, rolling my eyes as I stepped away from Juice. I always knew that my brother was intimidating in stature but it had been a long time since my six foot four brother glared down at me. I was saved from his glare for all of a minute as he locked the door again, leading me to wonder, what exactly people thought was going on in here.

"Anna," Opie sighed, actually trying to control his temper, although I could see the vein in his neck begin to twitch, "is there a reason why you're not wearing a shirt?"

"I was hot," I shrugged.

"Yeah?" Opie snorted. "Is that why it's in tatters?"

In the moments it took me to come back with a suitable comeback, Opie had turned his attention to Juice.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Opie growled.

"Oh, come on, Ope," I scoffed. "I know you were in prison for five years but you're not that thick."

Opie's jaw clenched as he cast me a scathing look before moving towards Juice, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him against the wall. "You had sex with my sister?"

"Opie," Juice tried to explain.

"You had sex with my sister?" Opie repeated, irately. "And you were about to do it again here?"

"Come off it, Harry," I warned sharply, startling Opie with the use of his real name. "I'm an adult and I don't need my brother dictating who I can and cannot have sex with. He's my boyfriend, Ope."

"Annie," Juice hissed knowing where I was going with this tirade.

I shot Juice a I-have-no-other-choice look before I stated, "He's also the father of my unborn child."

"Uh, Anna, was that supposed to help?" Juice squeaked.

"You're pregnant?" Opie clarified. "He knocked you up?"

Before I could answer, Opie had swung back around and punched Juice square in the face. Juice slumped to the ground, hands clutching his nose as blood poured.

"You fucking knocked up my baby sister?" Opie raged before turning towards me. "And you didn't tell me."

"Don't you yell at me," I snapped back before I punched him in the arm. "And don't hit my boyfriend."

"You're boyfriend?" Opie repeated. "Most people who have boyfriends don't hide it."

"Yeah?" I sneered. "I seem to remember a certain someone keeping their relationship with Donna a secret from Pop for months."

"That is not the same thing," Opie retorted. "I was in high school. You're a grown woman."

"Yes, Opie, I am a grown woman, which is why I don't appreciate you patronizing me," I growled. "I'm twenty four, Opie! I want a family. Is that so awful?"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Opie asked.

"Because I knew you'd react like this," I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Opie sighed before moving to help Juice to his feet. "And I'm sorry for punching you in the face. Although, if you pull this bathroom stunt again I can't guarantee that I won't do it again."

I rolled my eyes at my brother. For all he ranted and raved I could tell that he would be happy to have a niece or nephew. Although, he had come around a little fast, even for someone who was as mellow as he was. When a surprisingly sinister grin lit up his features I knew my feelings were well founded.

"What?" I asked.

"You're the one who has to tell Pop."

At that Opie laughed, ruffling my hair before walking back out into the diner. I glowered at him as Juice gave me one of his shirts. I then fixed my hair before walking back out to the diner. How was I going to tell Pop? Ah, fuck it, I was just going to go over and tell him now.

"Kat, can you run things for me?" I asked. "I gotta talk to my dad."

"Go ahead, sweetheart," Kat replied.

I smiled in reply as I leaned over the counter grabbing my purse and jacket before running out into the parking lot. Within a few minutes I was on my way to TM. I drove slowly through the lot, parking next to Gemma's car as I saw Dad's modified bike. It had a bigger bike than he had driven when I was a kid, but he was now carrying around an oxygen tank. I walked through the clubhouse seeing Bobby but there was no sign of my father.

"Bobby, where's Pop?" I asked.

"Kitchen," Bobby answered getting up to give me a hug. "Way to say 'hello', brat."

"Hi, Uncle Bobby," I smirked. "How are you this fine afternoon?"

"Now you're just being a smartass," Bobby laughed.

"I see nothin wrong with that," I grinned.

"I'm not surprised," Bobby laughed.

I smiled back before I walked into the small kitchenette where my father was eating.

"Hey Pops," I greeted.

"Anna," Dad rasped. "What are you doin here? Shouldn't you be at the diner?"

"I have news for you," I said.

Dad shot me a wary look before waving at me to continue.

"I'm dating Juice and I'm pregnant," I stated.

"And?" Dad asked.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"You don't think I know when one o' my kids is keeping secrets?" Dad scoffed. "That idiot hasn't been in the dorms for months, his bike is always outside your house. I figured as much."

"And you're okay with it?" I wondered.

"Does he treat you right?" Dad asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I don't give a shit," Dad shrugged. "He has a job. The kid's an idiot but he has a good head on his shoulders, whether or not he uses it is a completely different story. But, if you love this kid then I don't have a problem with it."

"Thanks, Pop," I grinned giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," Dad shook his head. "Get back to work."

"Love you too, Daddy," I snarked as I began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Smartass."

**Izzy's Point of View (Four Hours Ago)**

Every so often Anna, Kat, Tori, or I would take a day off. We loved the diner but sometimes we needed a break. Especially when our little establishment became the hotspot or gossip, which it often did. Today was my day off and I spent it in bed with Marco before he had to go to the shop. Even being a Son didn't save you from a forty-hour work week. It was around one thirty in the afternoon when I heard the front door open.

"Marco, that you?" I called from the basement.

When I didn't hear anything I tried again, "Half-sack?"

It was the second best guess considering that Half-sack had been playing the role of baby sitter ever since the others had found out about the letters. I frowned when no one answered, even though I clearly heard footsteps on the main landing. My heart began to race as I moved out from behind the pool table, grabbing the revolver that I had stashed under it. Whoever the hell thought that this little prank was a good idea was going to walk away limping.

Just as I got to the stairs the basement door closed with a bang. I pointed my gun towards the stairs ready to shoot when I saw that just the door was shut. I walked quickly up the stairs, and found that the door was locked, which was weird because this door never had a lock on it before. I didn't want to stay by the door just in case the person on the other side opened the door so I walked back down the stairs and behind a bunch of boxes.

I don't know how long I waited for something to happen. I could still hear the person walkin around, and then I heard something breaking quickly followed by more crashes before I heard the front door open and shut once more. Even though I was pretty sure I was now alone in the house, I knew that they hadn't unlocked the basement door.

"Come on, somebody come visit already," I muttered as my irritation grew.

Finally I heard a motorcycle before the front door opened again.

"Holy shit," Some growled. "Izzy! Izzy, are you here?"

"Half-sack!" I yelled. "I'm in the basement!"

The door was kicked in seconds before Half-sack ran down the stairs.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Someone locked me in here!" I snapped. "But, yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened?" I questioned.

"No, Izzy, just stay here for a second," Half-sack said. "I gotta call the others."

"Can I go upstairs? I mumbled.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Half-sack replied. "Why don't we just wait for the others."

"Who did you call?" I wondered.

"Clay," Half-sack said. "Was that the right decision?"

"Yeah," I said. "I mean it was either Clay, Jax, or Marco. One would tell the other."

Half-sack seemed to ponder that and I laughed when I heard three motorcycles barreling down the street. It was interesting to see how quickly Half-sack had adapted to MC life in the few months I had known him. He was learning things quickly and didn't seem that cautious anymore.

"Stay down here for a second," Half-sack ordered. When I raised my eyebrow he sighed and said, "Please?"

"You do realize I've been down here for hours?" I huffed.

"Just a few more minutes, Izzy," Half-sack cajoled.

"What the fuck?" I heard Jax yell.

"Izzy?" Marco exclaimed. "Bells, where are you?"

"I'm in the basement," I said.

Seconds later I heard the thump of feet on the stairs. I didn't have time to blink before Marco wrapped his arms around me, pulling me hard into his chest. I could hear how fast his heart was beating and glanced up at him.

"What did they do?" I whispered.

"Izzy…"

"Marco, they locked me in down here and I want to know what they did to my house," I growled.

"Okay," Marco sighed.

I took a deep breath and readied myself for whatever was waiting up on the main floor. I walked up slowly with the guys on my heels. The first thing I saw was that there were broken glasses, dishes, and everything else littering the floor. The coffee table in the living room was overturned, the plasma screen was broken and was laying on the ground. The picture frames that decorated the hallways were all broken. I went from feeling sad and scared to feeling unadulterated rage. Whoever had done this was going to pay, by my hands. This time I wasn't about to let the boys handle this prick.

"You okay, Bella?" Jax whispered.

"'M pissed," I managed to grind out before I turned on my heel and stomped towards my room. I swung the door open and turned on the lights. What I saw, I wasn't prepared for. I had thought that the rest of the house was bad. But, my bedroom was the worst. Clothes littered the floor and spray painted in the wall behind my bed was one sentence. **See you soon, sweetheart.**

I didn't realize that I had let out a shriek of fury until I was pushed out of the room and shielded from some danger that the guys had automatically assumed that I had found. They saw the state of the room, and I could tell that they had become even more angry. Someone thought it was funny to fuck around on our territory. Someone had the balls to walk in and destroy my house.

"Iz, pack a bag, you're staying in the clubhouse," Clay ordered.

"Dad…"

"Isabelle, do as I say," Clay commanded.

I wisely shut my mouth and packed a bag growing more furious by the second. At this point I hoped that the Jackals showed up because I was going to murder every last one of them.

"Come on, Bells, let's go," Marco whispered.

"I don't wanna stay at the clubhouse, Marco," I whispered as I allowed him to grab the duffle bag and lead me out of the house. "They win that way."

"Izzy, someone broke into the house in broad daylight," Marco said. "It's not safe."

"Then put guards on me," I said. "Fuck, do something else. Don't lock me down in the clubhouse."

"I'll talk to Clay," Marco sighed. "I'm not promising anything though."

"Thanks, baby," I grinned kissing him on the cheek.

I heard Marco breath heavily out of his nose as we both climbed on his motorcycle. He had recently had it customized and detailed. As a prospect, Marco hadn't been allowed to put anything SOA related on his bike. But, now that he was now a fully patched member. He Sons of Anarchy on one side of the tank, on the other was the was a Grim Reaper's scythe superimposed in front of the sniper rifle he had in the army.

It only took a few moments to get to TM, four motorcycles following in formation into the lot. Once everyone had pulled into their spaces, I hoped off the bike, walking towards the garage. The second I spot the punching bag, I made a beeline there. I slid in between the ropes of the boxing ring. I bounced on the balls of my feet, wrapping my knuckles in boxing tape to protect him.

I tied my long hair back into a ponytail with the elastic I always kept on my wrist as I threw a hook to the bag. I don't know how long I circled the punch throwing different variations. When suddenly the bag had resistance.

"I. Don't. Wanna. Talk. About. It," I growled my response staggered as l managed my breathing and punched the bag.

Sure, the person hadn't said a word but it was more of a preemptive strike. Things like this became predictable something bad would happen. And then they would question us, watch out for us far more closely than they had. Not that they weren't always watching, but once something happened everything became suffocating. I didn't want to talk about my feelings, I wanted this asshole caught so that I could gut him.

"Take a break, baby doll."

My head shot up at the unexpected voice. I figured that maybe one of the prospects, Clay, Jax, or Marco would be the ones to see if I was okay. Tig Trager coming into the ring wasn't something that I had anticipated.

"I figured the last thing you wanted was to be coddled," Tig explained.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"You know that we're not going to let anything happen to you," Tig said. "We didn't back then and we're not going to start now."

"That asshole had the audacity to come into my house and destroy it," I growled. "I don't give a shit about protection, I want his fucking head on a platter."

"We're going to take care of it."

"I don't want you guys to," I shook my had. "Just let me do it."

"You know for a fact that neither Clay nor Jax is going to let that happen," Tig shook his head. "You're mad, Iz. I get that. Rage is something I understand but you don't want that shit on your conscious."

It had taken a whole lot of wheedling and pleading to get Clay to let me go home. I wasn't surprised that Marco followed me home, maneuvering me into the guest bedroom, the only room that wasn't destroyed. This was the first time in recent memory where I fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep the entire night. When I woke up, Marco's side of the bed was empty. I sighed getting out of bed, walking out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Morning, Izzy."

With a startled yelp, I whirled around armed only with a cup of boiling hot coffee. When I saw that it was Half-sack I glared at him, putting the cup down.

"You lost your mind?" I grumbled. "Don't sneak up on someone like that."

"Sorry," Half-sack winced. "You going to the diner today?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "I can't stay here."

"Are you scared?"

"No," I shook my head. "At least not for me."

Half-Sack tilted his head to the side, contemplating what I had said. In the past few months that he had been a prospect, I had really enjoyed getting to know him. Unlike the other guys he chose to be quiet most of the time, observing his surroundings. I offered him a cup of coffee as I moved around the house, straightening some things before I took a quick shower. I tied my damp hair into a loose pony-tail. I put on a tank top and jeans. After I put on some make-up, I slid my feet into flip-flops, walking back out into the living room.

"Escort?" I asked.

"Yep," Half-sack said. "Clay told me if I ever want my top rocker I won't let you out of my sight no matter what."

"That sounds like him," I mused.

I grabbed my car keys and purse walking out through the garage. In minutes I was driving towards the diner with Half-sack on my heels. By the time I pulled into the diner's back lot, I noticed how busy it was. I walked through the back entrance, pausing by the office o drop off my bag before making my way to the front room.

"Hey, Iz," Kat greeted. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "I'm going to kill whoever broke into my house, though."

"Good," Tori said. "I can't believe someone would be that fucking stupid."

"Why's this place so busy?" I questioned.

"No idea," Kat shrugged. "A lot of these people I've never seen before."

"Weird," I mumbled.

In a place like Charming everyone knew everyone. That wasn't just something people said, it was true. I knew where my first grade teacher lived and the fact that she had cheated on her husband with Tig and Bobby on multiple occasions. It was an odd day when Charming had visitors. Hell, the only motel we had was on the edge of town.

"There a convention in town?" I guessed.

"Actually, there is," Anna said, coming around the counter after delivering table nine their food. "Some business convention on the Oswald's land."

"You think Eliot's planning something?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Anna mumbled. "Hell, the better question's what has he told them? We keep getting these frightened looks."

"Because we're so intimidating," Tori smirked.

"If they think we're threatening," Kat laughed when we heard motorcycles. "They're gonna shit themselves when they see the boys."

The motorcycles did have the tendency to startle people. Even those who had lived in Charming and around motorcycles their entire lives. One by itself was loud, but when they were in a pack the sound was deafening and all consuming. The people sitting at the booths looked apprehensive and more than a little skittish as Clay walked up the steps flanked by Tig and Jax respectively.

"Well, they certainly look cheerful," Anna mumbled.

"Something don't feel right," I frowned. "You feel that?"

"Yeah," Anna sighed. "Fuck."

The three men pulled up stools and we quickly filled coffee cups, placing them in front of them.

"No luck?" I guessed.

"We're going to find them," Clay growled. "There's no where they can hide for long."


	10. Take it out On Me

**Chapter Ten: Take it out On Me**

_"Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind."_

Apparently when the Jackals went underground it was serious business. Not even the Sons massive network had been able to suss out any viable lead. Which, in turn, had everyone on edge with tempers frayed. Sam Crow was often not a paranoid bunch, there were often too many real life threats to worry about maybes. Still the fact that the Jackals were out there…somewhere watching and waiting was enough to have me in a bad mood more often than not. It wasn't often where I was more short tempered than Anna, but it did happen.

If the Jackals weren't around it would almost seem like business as usual. If you over looked the fact that the Sons were close to losing their IRA gun source because the rebuild timeline put a dent in the 'cause'. They had a limited amount of time to scrap whatever money was needed. The actual amount was being kept in the dark, which made me hopeful that they had a handle on it.

The convention that Oswald was holding was apparently still raging on. More people seemed to be pouring in by the day. They were noticeable in that most if not all had no idea who the Sons of Anarchy were or why most residents gave them a wide berth. It wasn't often that Oswald even threw things like that in Charming, he hated the fact that Charming was a 'hick-town' stuck in the 1960s. Personally, I think his ego was a little crushed by the fact that the boys managed to stop each and every attempt at expansion. A small town was easier to control, something that the guys enjoyed and thrived on.

"Hey, sweetheart!" A guy in an expensive suit shouted at Janice. "Can I get my order sometime this century?"

Mr. Fancy-pants was clearly oblivious to the shocked glances of our regulars. Janice herself froze for a moment, eyes wide as she struggled with what to do. Sure, we were use to some people getting snappy when we were running at full capacity but most managed to remain civil. Of course they knew what would happen, otherwise, clearly this man didn't. His whole existence screamed city boy.

"I'm sorry, sir," Janice apologized finally recovering. "We're getting orders out as fast as we can. We're not use to being this busy."

"That's obvious," Mr. Fancy-pants scoffed. "Do you think you can tell them to hurry? I have places to be."

"Your order will be out as soon as possible, sir," Janice replied. "Can I get you more coffee while you wait."

"You mean that crap you call coffee?" Mr. Fancy-pants sneered. "I wouldn't call that shit coffee. Haven't you people heard of a goddamn Starbucks?"

Since his behavior wasn't atrocious enough. He then preceded to knock his half full coffee cup to the ground, sending ceramic shards and lukewarm coffee everywhere. When Janice turned to look at me, her eyes filled with tears. The last threads of my patience severed.

"Oh, shit," Tex hissed. "We better call the guys."

"Yeah, you think?" Ace murmured running off into the back room.

I was aware that every eye in the diner was on me as I stomped to Janice's side. I laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. The regulars were waiting for the incoming explosion. Normally, I'd be able to control myself, but most of our older customers remembered what I was like as a child. A sweet girl with a hair-trigger temper. Most also saw, though they didn't know the cause, that I was closer to the girl I was then compared to the woman I normally was, and had adjusted accordingly.

"Go to the kitchen, sweetheart," I told her. "Get whatever you want." Turning towards Mr. Fancy-pants and the other occupants of the table I continued, "I'll handle this."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Mr. Fancy-pants scoffed.

"I don't think so," I shrugged, keeping my tone light. "I noticed that my diner's not running up to your standards.."

"Your diner?" Mr. Fancy-pants repeated.

"Yes, sir."

"Then you can tell those cooks of yours to hurry it up," Mr. Fancy-pants grinned, smugly. "And can you make some more coffee that doesn't take like motor-oil?"

"Right away, sir," I grinned.

He leaned back satisfied that he had gotten his way. I hated people who treated others this way. Mr. Fancy-pants was the kind of person who saw it fit to treat those he deemed beneath him poorly. He had probably been accommodated for that his entire life, well, today was going to be different. He'd learn not to treat perfect strangers like shit, because you never really knew who you were fucking with.

"Izzy," Ace pleaded, grabbing my wrist as I headed towards the brewing coffee pots. "Please…"

Ace had recognized the fake smile and I could tell he also knew what was about to happen.

"I will not be disrespected in my own business, Carter," I hissed. "Now let me go."

"Bells, you know it's not that douchebag you're mad at," Ace tried. "You're reflecting…"

"Carter, I'm going to say this because I'm legitimately fond of you," I started. "Let me go or I'll do what I plan to do to that asshole to you."

Ace let me go, though it was impossible to mistake his frown for anything but disapproval. I grabbed one of the full pots of coffee of the burner and walked back to the table, filling some people's emptying cups along the way.

"This a fresh pot?" Mr. Fancy-pants questioned.

It was impossible to keep the menacing smile off my face as I retorted, "You tell me."

Mr. Fancy-pants looked confused seconds before I poured the hot coffee all over his lap. His surprised squeal had everyone shaking their heads before they went back to their own business. While a lot of people may not have actively liked the Sons of Anarchy community, most were of the opinion that women deserved respect. It was clear that while some were horrified, most supported what I had just done.

"You stupid bitch!" Mr. Fancy-pants howled. I had to give him credit, he recovered quickly jumping to his feet and into my personal space. "Do you have any idea who I am? What I can do to you?"

"I think the correct question is, do you have any idea who I am," I responded. "Which I already know that answer: you don't."

Mr. Fancy-pants was practically seething with rage as he got even closer to me. It was enough to have Tex and Ace stepping in between him and I with a firm shove, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

"Get out of my diner," I ordered.

"Or what?" Mr. Fancy-pants retorted.

His colleagues now looked horrified, though they didn't have my sympathy, none of them had lifted a finger when he had been yelling at a seventeen year old girl.

"Phil," A mousy woman with brown hair hissed. "Eliot said to keep a low profile around here."

I almost laughed when I heard the pack of Harley's. This was turning into quite the eventful morning and I smirked at Mr. Fancy-pants, who I knew was named Phil. If he thought that I was scary, well, I couldn't wait to see his reaction to any of the fully patched members. Marco, Damien, and Jax seemed to be the ones to answer the diner distress call.

"You're gonna get it now, sonny," Mr. Henderson whistled lowly. Henderson was a friend of the club, and a personal friend of Piney.

"There a problem here?" Jax asked, using his authoritative Vice President voice.

I had to admit that Jax had gotten pretty good at that voice. It was one that all the boys seemed to have. The answer-me-right-now-or-else voice. The way my brother pitched it to echo around the room was also a nice touch.

"Yeah, there is," Phil exclaimed. "This bitch," Phil scowled gesturing at me. "Poured hot coffee all over me!"

"Man, you really just screwed yourself over," I whistled.

Either Phil was very, very stupid. Or he was so angry that he hadn't gathered that all the boys suddenly surrounding him were wearing the same leather cut. On the way over to Phil, Jax spared me an angry glance. That meant I was probably going to get the every action has a consequence lecture. But, right now they were a little preoccupied with defending my honor. They manhandled Phil out of the diner and into the alley way. His colleagues looked surprised and terrified by that and even more so when the other patrons just went back to their meals.

"I'd suggest the lot of you don't come back here," I growled eyeing the remaining three. "Or if you do, mind your manners."

Spinning on my heel I noticed the looks of approval and disapproval from various people as I walked back into the kitchens. I found Janice on a stool talking to Kat as she worked.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," Janice coughed, flushing slightly. "I've just never had a costumer speak to me that way before."

"I'm sorry, Jan," I shook my head. "Some people have no respect."

"Which is why our coffee is always boiling hot," Kat snickered. "Is it true that douche called you a bitch in front of the boys?"

"Yup," I laughed. "Some people just can't get a clue until it punches them in the face."

"Which is probably what's happening now," Tori shook her head. "Christ."

"Whatever the lot of them are doing here, I hope they get the hell outta dodge," I frowned. "I don't think I can take anymore outsider stupidity."

"That's for damn sure," Kat muttered as Tori nodded her head in agreement.

I wondered how bigger charters in bigger places dealt with the outsider's. It was easier in the small town of Charming. People knew who you were without having to say a word. It lead to distance, something that could feel isolating in the worst and best possible ways. These newcomers had no idea what Charming was really all about. I was on the phone with one of our various suppliers when Jax walked into the office, shutting the door behind him as he dropped into Anna's seat. Anna was going to be pissed when she found out that all the action happened on her day off.

"What is with you lately?" Jax asked.

"I'd think you'd already know the answer to that question," I replied, tersely.

"Don't take that attitude with me, Izzy," Jax warned.

"Sorry," I grumbled. "I'm just not dealing well."

"That would be an understatement, wouldn't you think?" Jax rolled his eyes.

"This whole thing is bullshit, Jax," I groaned. "I can't keep going like this. My anxiety is through the roof. I'm biting people's heads off…"

"Pouring hot coffee onto business people's laps," Jax interrupted. "You realize how that could blow…"

"Back on the club," I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I thought about that. He almost made Janice cry, Jax. Then he insulted me in my own place. I couldn't let it go."

"You couldn't," Jax questioned. "Or you wouldn't."

"Does it matter?"

"Bella," Jax warned.

"So, I lost my temper," I rolled my eyes. "I've been seeing a lot of that lately. Mom, clocking Cherry in the face with a skateboard, you stabbed a NORD with a cue stick making them lose a nut, and Marco beat the shit out of some guy a week ago for smacking my ass at a party."

"I'm not stupid, Iz, you didn't do that out of anger," Jax rolled his eyes. "You scapegoated the asshole because you're frustrated with the whole Jackal situation. But, you're not in that alone. We're doing all we can to find them."

"Jax…"

"No," Jax interrupted again. "You need to snap the hell out of it. This isn't the time to be selfish. ATF is breathing down our necks and we don't need any more slip ups like what we just had to deal with. So, cut the princess routine and don't worry about shit until it happens. And it's not going to happen."

"You can't make that promise, Jackie," I mumbled,

"Sure, I can," Jax scoffed, his eyes softening at the childhood moniker. "I'm the oldest that means I'm always right."

"No, it doesn't," I laughed.

"I'm pretty sure it does," Jax disagreed.

Jax was by nature a pretty optimistic, at least when it concerned affairs in the club. As long as the Sons of Anarchy were involved, Jax figured that eventually everything would work itself out. He didn't see the Jackals causing problems because they weren't going to get the chance to blindside us. We were going to be a step ahead of them. Last time we didn't even know that someone would do something so brazenly stupid, now we knew that there were morons out there.

"Seriously, though, Iz," Jax drawled. "Save your anger for the assholes who deserve it in its entirety. Okay?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Why don't you head home?" Jax suggested. "I think you've done enough damage for the day."

"You might have a point," I laughed.

I grabbed my jacket and bag, following Jax out of the office. I paused by the kitchen to let Kat and Tori know what was going on before I walked out back. Jax was waiting on his bike with Tex and Ace.

"Prospects are going to follow you back, check out the house," Jax shouted over the rumbling motor. "Marco will probably come back sooner or later."

"Okay," I replied, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

It took a focused person to be able to drive near the motorcycles. Most other cars sped around them or opted to turn down a different street. I never had that luxury and learned exactly how fast I could go and I knew to break earlier so the person behind me wouldn't end up on my car.

"Stay out here, Bell," Tex ordered. "We'll check the house from top to bottom."

"Thank you guys."

Ace snagged the house keys from me and together they walked into my house. I was leaning against my car watching as they moved from one room to the others. They were meticulous checking anything and everything that a person could hid in.

"Hello, Isabelle."

I didn't even get a chance to turn and address the person who had spoken before I was hit over the head black spots danced in front of my eyes as I dropped to the ground. Hands seized me by my biceps, yanking me upwards. It should've hurt, and I knew it would judging by the sheer pressure the person, or people were using to keep me still.

"No!" I shouted, angry.

There was no way in hell these assholes were going to take me anywhere again. Not without one hell of a fight. Growling I leaned back into the persons chest, using them to kick the other person directly in front of me. When he crumbled, I brought my foot back hitting him hard. The grip on my arms slackened and I jumped away, whirling around to face my attackers.

"You're going to regret that, you little bitch," One hissed.

He moved towards me but I cut him off with a right cross that snapped his head to the side. Unfortunately, the man recovered a lot faster than I thought he would and his fist lashed out punching me hard in the face.

"Tex!" I screamed, shrilly.

Both Tex and Ace raced from the house with their guns drawn pointing at the two masked men.

"Do not move," Tex ordered sharply. "I will shoot you."

The masked men raised their arms above their heads as Tex and Ace came closer shoving both of them to the ground.

"Iz, go inside, lock the door and call the others."

**Jimmy Chase's Point of View**

The Sons of Anarchy really had to teach their prospects better. After barely sweeping the bitch's house they had run outside to get Izzy. Of course, they might've done a more thorough run through if they hadn't been distracted. For once in my life everything was going according to plan. Two of my boys were the decoys, I knew that the prospects would make the little bitch run into her house, under the guise that she would be safe there.

It was a shame that this girl was the cause of my entire family being dead. If things were different I might've tried to push up on that. The blonde was leggy, filling out those jeans in a way that was almost sinful. I stayed in the darkly lit hallway as she rushed right by me into the kitchen. She hit the first speed dial and immediately connected with someone.

"Dad, they're here," She exclaimed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. They only…"

Little Izzy Teller was so wrapped up in her phone call to step-daddy that she didn't hear or feel me approach, not until I clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into my chest. The traditional corded phone fell to the floor with a clatter as Isabelle attempted to fight me off. I could feel her trying to bite me through my leather gloves, but it didn't hurt.

"We meet at last," I whispered, my chin resting on her right shoulder.

Tilting my head slightly I inhaled and smirked. She managed to smell spicy, maybe like cinnamon but sweet to like vanilla. She struggled against me thrashing and squirming but she never managed to shake my grip.

"You and I haven't been properly introduced, sweetheart," I whispered into her ear. "My name is Jimmy Chase, and you, Izzy Teller, are responsible for the death of my entire family."

Isabelle went stock still and for a moment I thought she'd pass out on me. Instead she came alive in an instant using those stiletto boots of hers to stomp on my foot as hard as she could. I grunted leaning forward that stomp had hurt, but not as much as her head snapping back into my nose did. I let go of her and took a couple steps away from her.

"Jimmy Chase, huh?" Isabelle sneered. "A pussy name for a pussy club."

She was backing up towards the knife block, which made me grin. Isabelle wouldn't find any of her knives or the .357 she hid underneath the actual block.

"You looking for this, sweetheart?" I asked, holding up the aforementioned firearm.

Izzy went stock still as I turned off the safety and aimed it at her.

"I've been waiting a long, long time for this moment," I laughed. "I knew the Sons wouldn't be able to protect you forever, after all they've let you down before."

"Shut up," Isabelle snarled. "Don't talk about my family."

"You call those people your family?"

Rage overcame me, swift and hot as I charged at her, grabbing a handful of her golden locks and pulling her towards me.

"You got my entire family killed," I hissed. "You little bitch. Those assholes you call your family systematically wiped us out."

"I never told them to fucking kidnap me," Isabelle growled. "Who knew people could actually be that stupid?"

"They were settling a score," I retorted.

"If you're going to kill me, can you just get it over with?" Isabelle muttered. "As soon as the prospects are done with your two little lackeys they'll be coming right back in here. You don't want to be interrupted, do you?"

I knocked her ankles together sending her to her knees. My hand still had a firm grip on her hair as I turned her to look at me. She stared at me, not in fear or apprehension, but there was something calculating in those baby blues. It was disconcerting. They weren't like average blue eyes they were dark, like the ocean at night and memorizing. I turned off the safety of the gun in my hand and placed it so it was nearly touching her forehead. It had taken almost eleven years but now, at any second, my family was about to be avenged.

The sound of another gun cocking stilled my movements. I looked over my shoulder to see the President and Vice President of the Sons of Anarchy. Both of whom had their guns pointing right at me.

"Don't move, boy," The president snarled.

"Shoot him," Izzy whispered.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," I warned. "Put your guns down."

Both men glanced at one another before they put their guns away under my watchful eyes. Isabelle moved suddenly, shoving her elbow deep into my stomach. I stumbled back with as gasp and moved to shoot her but she had ducked and rolled. Before I could recover a boot kicked me in the chest and knocked me to the ground. The Vice President then put his own boot on my throat, cutting off my air.

"Wait, Jax, don't," Isabelle exclaimed as Jax leveled the gun at me.

I glared at the blonde bitch as she approached, wondering what she was up to. When she grabbed the gun out of Jax's grin I struggled against the boot pinning me to the ground. She crouched down beside me before she punched me in the face.

"You know there's a lot I could've let go," Isabelle began conversationally. "Those pussy little notecards of yours, for one. But, the second you destroyed my house and threatened my best friend, you were living on borrowed time."

She left her crouch and before I could even think of anything she pulled the trigger.


	11. Part and Parcel

**Chapter Eleven: Part and Parcel**

_"__Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."_

**Izzy's Point of View**

I had been around guns for most of my life but when I pulled that trigger the recoil almost knocked me off my feet. I watched as the bullet found its mark in Jimmy Chase's forehead. I watched with morbid fascination as the blood began to spread along the tiled floor until it looked almost like a halo had formed around his head.

"Bella," Jax whispered gently. "Give me the gun."

I passed it off with nerveless fingers not taking my eyes off the person who I killed. I killed with no hesitation and even as I continued to look at his lifeless body, I felt no remorse. I didn't feel a thing. Then anger was still there and I didn't really feel relieved. Which might've been the worst thing. The person who had threatened my life for the past two months was dead and there was no relieve, no satisfaction, just a dead body bleeding all over my kitchen.

"Get her outta here, Jax," Clay ordered. "I'm going to call Tig and Happy in."

"When'd Happy get in?" I asked.

"Stopped by on a Charity Run," Jax said, throwing an arm over my shoulders, "heard what happened and decided to stick around for a few days."

"Oh," I mumbled.

"You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"Well, you just killed someone," Jax said. "It's okay to feel guilty or conflicted."

"I don't."

"You don't?" Jax questioned.

"Feel anything," I explained.

"We're going to St. Thomas," Jax announced before I had a chance to sit on the couch. "Where are your car keys?"

"Jax, I'm fine," I retorted.

"Bella, you look like hell…"

"Gee, thanks, Jackson," I muttered. "Is that why you're so successful with the ladies?"

"Bells, you were jumped and then you killed someone," Jax explained. "We're going to the hospital."

"Just call Tara," I whined.

"Isabelle, for once in your life could you just do what I tell you?" Jax growled.

"Fine," I muttered.

Three hours later I was released from St. Thomas with pain pills for the rib that I had broken. I had been told that I would have some nice bruises on my biceps from being held so harshly. By the time I had arrived back home any evidence that the Jackals had been here had been wiped. Jax escorted me through my house and into my bedroom where Marco was waiting.

"I can take it from here, Brother," Marco whispered.

"She's got a broken rib and a black eye," Jax explained. "They gave her pain pills, told us to watch for complications, if any. She's gotta be cleared by a Doc to ride bitch again."

"Okay," Marco sighed.

"It's over, man," Jax smiled, clapping Marco on the back.

Before he left the room Jax kissed my forehead and then presumably showed himself out, I was a little too out of it from vicodin to notice much of anything. The next morning, however, everything hit at once. I let out a little squeal as I rolled out of bed. My face, arms, and torso ached, throbbing in time to my heartbeat. I wished that Jimmy Chase was in front of me right now because I'd love nothing more than to return the favor. The bastard was lucky he was already dead.

My morning routine was a lot longer than normal. Mostly because I had to move around carefully until the pain medication kicked in. Once it had, I poured some coffee in a to-go cup and made my way to my car. By the time I entered the diner, things were slowing down from the breakfast rush.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Anna exclaimed pulling me into a hug the second I walked behind the counter.

"Annie, broken rib," I whispered, hugging her back nonetheless.

"You handled it?" Anna asked, in a way that I knew she already had the answer to that question.

"Yup," I smirked.

"That's my girl," Anna praised. "We don't need the boys to handle our shit."

I slipped my apron on over my jeans as I moved filling remaining coffee cups and handing out meals. When the last of the breakfast stragglers cleared out I followed Anna to the back room. She fell into her chair, immediately pulling off her boots.

"Damn swollen feet," Anna muttered. "Juice has been bullying me to take it easy."

"He's bullying you?" I repeated skeptically. Not a lot of people could bully Annemarie Winston into something she didn't already want to do. So, I don't that Juice was bullying her, trying to convince her to take it easy, was another matter entirely.

"Whose best friend are you?" Anna huffed.

"You are eight months pregnant," I pointed out. "Most people would take it easy."

"My job's not that difficult," Anna grumbled, crossing her arms over her very pregnant belly. "Anyway, I heard someone has to be around to keep you from pouring boiling hot coffee on customers."

"Oh, shut up," I ordered. "It's nothing you haven't done before. Hell, you would've done it before and after me if you were here yesterday."

"You know me so well," Anna laughed.

The grin that spread on Anna's voice would've been frightening to those not use to it. Of course, I knew that grin well. It normally preceded us getting in loads of trouble. The office settled into a companionable silence as we went over inventory and accounting, making sure that all the vendors and our employees had been paid. When we heard the ding of the bell over the main door start going at regular intervals we walked back out. Anna hadn't put her heels back on, choosing instead to wear a pair of slippers she kept in the office, that looked like giant sneakers.

"Nice shoes, Anna," Janice laughed.

"Be quiet, twerp," Anna retorted. "Otherwise I'll call a truant officer, I know for a fact that Charming High doesn't have an open lunch."

"You're such a nice boss," Janice responded, walking off with a platter of food.

"Did you hear that they found bones out on 44?" Ms. Cavaungh asked Ms. Watson.

The two women were some of the nosiest women in Charming. If anything happened that was recent they'd be the first to know about it; and would tell anyone else they could. Which would be the reason why they were currently gossiping loudly in the diner, at the booth closest to the front door and the counter. People were listening, some more subtle than others as one of the girls refilled their coffee cups.

"Oh, dear," Ms. Watson replied, looking suitably aghast at the situation.

"Three bodies, can you even imagine?" Ms. Cavaungh shook her head. She then turned shooting an accusing look in our direction.

Anna and I exchanged glances knowing that any bones buried anywhere near Charming probably had something to do with the Sons. I listened to the two gossipers conversation as I served coffee to the people sitting at the counter. I smiled as Anna served two older gentlemen their food before waddling over to me.

"I'm gonna go visit TM," Anna said. "Bring 'em some sandwiches."

The unspoken part of that little plan was finding out what the fuck was going on.

"Good idea," I agreed.

"I'll call you later," Anna said.

She grabbed her bag and jacket before walking out of the diner. A few moments later I heard the roar of her '69 Camaro as she drove out of the parking lot and drove in the direction of TM. If anyone questioned Anna's lack of sandwiches, they didn't say anything, knowing better than to get involved in SOA affairs.

**Anna's Point of View**

I drove into the giant lot that TM occupied, parking next to Gemma's Cadillac. I left my purse in the car, knowing that no one would be stupid enough to steal it. With a surge of energy I lifted myself out of the car, kicking the door behind me as I walked over to the garage. I placed a gentle hand over my stomach wincing at the solid kick I got in return.

"Take it easy kid," I whispered. "Jesus."

I walked over to where Tig, Bobby, and Chibs were gathered around the lunch tables.

"Anna," Bobby greeted, giving me a hug. "How's the kid?"

"Still kickin the holy hell outta me," I shook my head.

"Hi, Annie!" Lowell whooped from the boxing ring.

"Hi, Lowell," I responded.

"Pay attention, Lowell!" Chibs barked seconds before Half-Sack clocked him.

The Scotsman then turned his attention to Half-Sack, "oh, ye're getting cocky now? Ye can beat up a druggie, prospect, don' mean shite."

"Who's the bitch?" I asked, eyeing the skinny girl suspiciously.

Crow-eaters were a dime a dozen but they didn't hang out the garage or the lot in the daytime. I always though of them as vampires; they only came out at night. They also traveled in hordes. Each new one was brought by someone who had been there awhile. So, while it was a possibility that I hadn't met them all, I knew that they were only allowed to come around during parties.

"Half-Sack's new squeeze," Bobby said.

"Is that the girl from Indian Hills?" I questioned.

"The very same," Tig smirked.

"Hmm," I muttered. So that was the girl Izzy had been talking about. The one who Gemma smacked with a skateboard.

I turned my head to see Clay driving up; he was the first motorcycle spot, right next to Jax's bike. He left his helmet on the handlebars before walking towards us.

"Hi, sweetheart," Clay greeted hugging me to his side as he kissed the side of my head.

"Morning," I smiled.

He smiled at me before his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the boxing ring. He had always been protective of Lowell, "who's idea was this?"

"Bobby's," Tig replied at the same moment Bobby answered, "Tig's."

"Lowell, get outta there, you've lost enough brain cells for one day," Clay reproached

Before anyone else could respond, Jax walked out of the garage eyeing the scene before him before questioning, "how's sugar ray one nut lookin?"

"E's wicked fast, great right hook," Chibs praised.

"Hey, Annie," Jax greeted, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to visit," I said. "I heard we have a little problem?"

"You've heard?" Jax sighed.

"Yup, so has Iz and half the town."

"Holy shit," Jax rolled his eyes.

"Um, what?" Clay questioned. "What's going on?"

"Water and Power dug up some old bones out on 44," Jax explained.

I glanced in between Clay and Tig; neither seemed surprised by the admission. In fact would see as if they've known the bodies were there. Clay, Jax, and Tig then began to have a silent conversation; one I wasn't included in and wasn't supposed to be privy too.

"Call a meeting," Clay ordered finally.

"You should head back to the diner," Jax told me, slinging his arm over my shoulders and leading me away from the others. "Or go home. Are you supposed to be on your feet?"

"You sound like Opie and Juice," I huffed. "I don't wanna be at home by myself, I'll be bored outta my mind."

"Anna," Jax reproached.

"Jax," I replied.

He rolled his eyes swatting me upside the head. He took care not to smack me to hard in my delicate condition, causing me to roll my own eyes and smack his arm. I hated how everyone was coddling me just because I was pregnant.

"What are you going to do about the bones?" I asked.

"Anna," Jax frowned. "It's club business."

"It's also the new town gossip," I shrugged.

"We'll take care of it," Jax said, sharply.

"Jax," I tried, wanting more information.

"Annie, you know better," Jax reprimanded.

"Alright," I huffed.

Izzy and I walked a strange line within the Sons of Anarchy. Even if we weren't Old Ladies we would've been involved. We grew up surrounded by everything Sam Crow stood for and as a result of that we were kept more in the loop. We were more accustomed to knowing everything, even if we weren't supposed to. It was one of the reasons why we tended to push and needle them for information, we wanted to help. It was a matter of loyalty, we would do anything for them, which they knew. The Sons just wanted to keep us safe. Sometimes, though, we knew only as much as all the other women. It drove me crazy. I wanted to know, and I wanted to help.

I knew that nothing would come from arguing about it. If anything they wouldn't tell us anything out of spite. Frowning I moved toward my car, halting when a hand grabbed my arm.

"Be careful," Jax ordered, firmly. "Close down the diner before dark."

"Jax…"

"Do what I told you," Jax interrupted.

**Izzy's Point of View**

"Iz!"

My head snapped up in the direction of Half-Sack's voice. He was walking through the back door, a small smile on his face. I tilted my head wondering what happened to put him in such a good mood.

"What?" I questioned.

"I was just wondering if I could get some coffee?" Half-Sack replied.

"Of course," I yawned.

I walked over to where all the prospects were sitting. He was sitting next to Tex with Ace on the other side. Braden and Grayson were next to Ace, keeping an eye on the diner as a whole. Three hours later, Anna had yet to return from TM, which made me all the more anxious to know what was going on. With the constant stream of people, gossip had only gotten all the more outlandish, as people came up with their own explanations as to what was going on. Of course the Sons were always at the center of every tale.

"So, do you guys know what happened?" I asked leaning on the counter and lowering my voice.

The prospects weren't allowed in Church yet. Sometimes if other members were away, they were allowed to sit in and watch, but they weren't allowed to vote. The fact that they were here instead of the emergency Church that had no doubt been called. Still, there was always the off chance that they'd know something.

"What the others told us doesn't make sense," Half-Sack shook his head.

"Can you tell me anyway?" I whispered.

As the prospect that had been here the longest, the other's looked to Half-Sack. Sure, they had their mentors but sometimes the prospects relied on one another. The prospects always got close to one another as they struggled to adapt to this new lifestyle. It may have been freeing to ask questions and know that they wouldn't be judged like they could be if they asked their sponsors. If Half-Sack noticed the sudden leadership role he had gotten, he didn't show it. He looked like he was going to argue against it, having heard the keep-the-women-on-a-need-to-know-basis thing. But, I also knew that Half-Sack's eyes roamed sometime, normally focusing on my breasts, ass, or stomach when they were showing, so using that information to my advantage, I leaned forward, giving Half-Sack a direct viewing of my cleavage.

I knew it was successful when I saw Half-Sack flush and pale, his eyes looking straight at my chest before looking away. I laughed as his efforts to either look me in the eyes, to the point where it was a little uncomfortable or look away.

"Sack?" I prompted.

"Uh, they said that the bodies were Mayans," Half-Sack mumbled. "Then they mentioned something about '92 and '93."

"Fuck," I muttered.

"Iz?" Ace questioned.

"Bells!" Tex shouted after me. "Come back!"

That was all I heard before the front door shut behind me. I hopped into my car, pulling out of the parking lot and driving towards TM. I remembered 1992 and 1993, during those two years the Sons were warring with the Mayans, a war that left a lot of casualties on both sides, my father included. It was during those two years that I realized that my family and I didn't live like everyone else. That our lives were more dangerous than anyone else's in Charming.

**_Thursday, November 11, 1993 (Fifteen Years Ago)_**

_School had been going on long enough to fall into a simple routine. Every Monday through Friday was the same, wake up, breakfast, school, and then go to the shop to do our homework. Anna and I had been enrolled into the Gifted and Talented program, based on our parent's suggestion than anything else. I believe Mom had said, "If you don't want them in the principal's office everyday then you better keep the two of them busy."_

_Although, Mom did have a point that there was a direct correlation between Anna and I being bored and disrupting class, I didn't understand why every single class of ours had to be honors. It wasn't that the classes were difficult, per say, it was more to do with the fact that our classmates all thought they were the next Einstein._

_"Isabelle Teller, please come to the main office," The principal's secretary requested over the loud speaker. "I repeat, Isabelle Teller, please come to the main office."_

_"Ooh," The kids in my Algebra class chorused eyeing me smugly._

_I rolled my eyes already knowing what they were thinking. Ooh, Teller's in trouble again. I sighed apparently no matter how 'gifted' or 'talented' my peers were they would still 'ooh' whenever someone was called to the office. Personally, I didn't care whatever got me out of this stupid class was a godsend. My teacher gestured towards the door as I grabbed my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder as I walked out of the door and towards the office._

_I couldn't have been in trouble. Anna and I hadn't even done anything remotely troublesome in months. Our last prank had nearly blown up our science class, pissing our parents off. We had been confined to either our houses our TM for the past month and a half, so we weren't going to risk being grounded even more than we already were. I opened up the door to the office, expecting Principal Merlin to have that stern look on his face. What I got was my Uncle Bobby waiting in the lobby, near the secretary who was looking at me sympathetically._

_"Uncle Bobby?" I questioned. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Come on, Bells," Bobby prodded placing his arm over my shoulder. "I already signed you out for the day."_

_While Uncle Bobby wasn't related to me anyone bearing the Sons of Anarchy cut could pull Anna or I out of school. It had happen a dozen of times over the past two years. The adults in my life were worried about something. They would keep Anna and I out of school for no reason, and we had been staying at the clubhouse instead of our own houses. But, they wouldn't tell us what was going on. No one told us why the other charters were down here, Why there were people with guns on the roofs, and why the compound was locked down at all times._

_"Why?" I asked as I was led outside. "Where are we going?"_

_"The hospital," Bobby responded. "Come on kid."_

_It was clear that Bobby didn't want me asking any more questions. And having been raised in this life, I was taught to listen to both spoken and unspoken orders the first time, especially if those orders came from a Son. Bobby must've grabbed my helmet from TM because it was thrust into my hands before he placed his own helmet on top of his head. He swung his legs over his bike, looking back at me. I scrambled onto the back of the bike, wrapping my arms around his stomach._

_Normally I liked riding with the guys but this time just felt bad. There was something important Bobby wasn't telling me. The fact that he was the one pulling me out of school not Mom, Dad, Uncle Piney, or Aunt Mary was troubling. And the fact that we were going to the hospital instead of the clubhouse or my house was all the more worrisome. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as we entered St. Thomas' parking lot. Motorcycles were lined up taking up nearly eight spots. There were more motorcycles then there were members in the Charming charter._

_"Uncle Bobby, what's going on?" I asked the third time, no longer content with the knowledge that he didn't want me asking questions. The fear in my voice kept him from reprimanding me._

_"There was an accident, sweetheart," Bobby finally said as he took my helmet and his and laid it on the handlebars._

_I didn't protest when Bobby grabbed my hand, dragging me through the lobby of St. Thomas' and into the elevator. Taking the first right after the elevator put us smack dab in the middle of the ICU waiting room. Looking around at all the men in SOA cuts were both overwhelming, comforting, and frightening. I had only seen gatherings like this when something really, really bad had happened. Finally, I saw another reassuring face._

_"Mom!" I cried._

_I let go of Bobby's hand weaving between bikers three times my size before I was able to close the distance between mom and I and fling myself into her open arms._

_"What's going on?" I babbled. "Why's everyone here?"_

_"It's your Daddy, baby," Mom whispered. "He was in an accident."_

_"But, he's gonna be okay, right, Mom?" I whispered, looking up at her._

_I watched her swallow, noticing for the first time that she looked different. Mom was the strongest women I knew and to see her struggling with her emotions, made everything all the more clear. I disengaged from her hold, collapsing into the nearest chair._

_"D-D-Dad's not gonna be okay," I whimpered. A statement of fact more than a question._

_"No, baby," Mom swallowed hard, tears brimming in her eyes. "No, he's not."_

_"I want to see him," I stated firmly._

_"Izzy, I don't think that's a good idea," Mom protested. "He's…"_

_"I don't care what he looks like!" I yelled loudly. "I wanna see Dad!"_

_I wasn't really aware of how inappropriately loud my tone was until I realized that the entire waiting room had become silent. In any other situation mom wouldn't have hesitated to yell right back, or any of the others for being disrespectful towards my mother. But no one said a word. It was so uncomfortably silent that we could all hear the 'ding' of the elevator announcing it's arrival on the third floor. The silence was shattered by the stomping of boots on the linoleum floor, and the screech of said boots as they skidded around the corner. Jax and Opie eyed the room before they came straight towards Mom and I._

_"Ma?" Jax asked. "Why were we pulled outta school?"_

_"It's your father, Jax," Mom sighed. "There was an accident."_

_Jax didn't say a word instead his expression went blank as he looked around the room Apparently the six year age gap was enough for him to realize everything without having to be filled in on all the details._

_"Can I see him?" Jax asked._

_It seemed like Mom was more reluctant to tell Jax 'no', as she looked between the two of us. _

_"You and Izzy can go see him," She finally said. "The nurse said he'd be in a room in a few minutes."_

_Within twenty minutes, Jax and I were standing on either side of Dad's bed. Dad and Jax were like mirror images of one another. Mom had once groused that Tommy was the only one who looked like her. Jax had Dad's eyes and hair. I had Dad's hair, Mom's eyes, and incredibly fair skin, which Mom had when she was a kid before she discovered tanning... He was awake, which was remarkable given the fact that he looked awful. Not one patch of skin wasn't covered in road rash or some other kind of scrape. He was covered with gauze, and had dozens of wires attached to him._

_"Don't cry, Bella," Dad whispered, taking my hand in his. He took Jax's hand in his other and smiled loosely up at us._

_The simple movement took moments to complete and left the once strong leader of my family and the Sons exhausted._

_"I love you both very much," Dad continued, his breathing labored which made every word all the more difficult. "I'm so proud of you two."_

_"I love you too, Daddy," I whispered._

_"I love you, Pops," Jax said._

_"Jackson," Dad stated._

_I missed the look that passed from father to son as the two Teller men looked over to me. My vision was blurred by tears, my head bowed as I tried to wake up from the nightmare I was suddenly caught in._

_"Iz," Jax whispered. "Come on."_

_"I want to stay here," I protested._

_"Dad's sleeping," Jax responded._

_"Jax, I…"_

_"I know," Jax sighed, picking me up from my chair and cradling me to his chest as we walked us out of the room. Due to Jax's newest growth spurt, and my small stature, I fit easily on the side of his hip as he walked us back to the waiting room._

_I didn't know it then but as I glanced over Jax's shoulder, staring at my father: bloody and broken, asleep in the hospital bed. That was the last time I ever saw my father . The loaded way he had said Jax's name would be the last time I heard his voice. Two days later he was dead. Two days later the nightmares started._

I never realized how messed up those two years were until I looked back on things. How much the adults in my life had hidden things from me. Poorly concealed excuses and orders to just do what they said as we moved from our house and moved into the clubhouse. For nearly all of those two years both the Teller and Winston family, along with the other members of the Charming chapter stayed in the clubhouse, sleeping in the dorm rooms and wherever else they could. The main room had air mattresses and sleeping bags everywhere.

With Dad's death everything exploded. Anna and I didn't go anywhere without an escort. Neither did Mom or any of the other old ladies. If you were tied to the Sons of Anarchy you were in danger, plain and simple. The Mayans had wanted something, whatever it was, I still wasn't sure, but they were willing to kill women and children to get it. When Dad died every single charter had come out to pay their respects. Even the charter run by McGee in Belfast had come to Charming. The funeral procession had scared people, kept them indoors as hundreds of motorcycles rode through the center of town and into the cemetery

"Izzy?"

I had barely noticed that I had parked next to my mother's car and had been sitting in my car in TM for God only knew how long. Based on the irritation on my brother's face it had been long enough. The flat of his palm banged against the window.

"Iz!" Jax snapped. "What the hell is going on?"

Jax had to jump back as I flung open the car door. Before Jax could say a word I growled, "they were Mayan? The bodies were Mayan?"

"Who told you?" Jax retorted.

"The better question is why didn't you?" I muttered, crossing my arms in front of me.

"It's club business," Jax stated firmly.

"Oh, I didn't realize all of fucking Charming was Sam Crow," I snapped.

"The fuck's the matter with you?" Jax glowered.

"They said the bodies were buried between 1992 and 1993," I explained. "I just…I…I have no idea what the fuck's the matter with me."

The anger that had almost flew me over here, poured out in a second, leaving me quaking and confused. Jesus, I was getting upset about fucking bodies that weren't even Sam Crow. 1992 and 1993 were not good years for us, it was the year Dad died and people were in and out of the hospital.

"You think that they might have to do with Dad?" Jax guessed. "Iz, what happened to dad was an accident."

"That's what they told us," I mumbled.

"Izzy?" Jax sighed.

He was using trying to soothe but I heard the undercurrent of frustration that comes from dealing with the same argument multiple times. And every time he repeated that it was an accident, we don't have a reason to believe that it was anything but that. But it just seemed odd. How could Dad not hear the semi? How could the semi not see Dad?

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Okay? I'm sorry, I was just thinking about that day about those two years."

I didn't have to clarify what day I was talking about as Jax's face softened. That day was probably one of the worst in my life, not that the nights following after were any better. Who knew that it was possible to survive on three hours of sleep every night for months on end.

"We're taking care of things, Tig and Clay went over to St. Thomas'," Jax explained.

I didn't want to know what taking care of things entailed. All I knew was I felt ridiculous for storming all the way over here. I was on edge about everything, the smallest of things had me flying off the handle. I didn't know what was going on anymore. Only that this felt like I was twelve all over again. I wondered vaguely if the nightmare were going to start back up.

"You know you're safe now," Jax whispered, his hand falling on my shoulders as his eyes connected with mine. "No one's going to hurt you. Not when we're around."

"I know," I sighed.

"Then what's the problem?" Jax asked

"I don't know," I confessed. "It just feels like something bad's gonna happen. Even with the Jackals dealt with, it still feels that something's coming. Something big."

You couldn't survive in this lifestyle without relying on that gut feeling. My parents had taught me that, Jax had taught me that. Everyone around me had taught me that. Right now my gut feeling was that there was something looming in the distance, and whatever it was, it wasn't good.


	12. Fuel to the Fire

**Chapter Twelve: Fuel to the Fire**

"_Our lives are defined by moments, especially the ones we never see coming.__"_

"Mornin' Gem," Anna greeted the next morning.

I walked out from the kitchen to see my mother standing in the middle of the diner. With her straight-legged dark blue jeans, black shirt, brown leather duster, and knee high boots, my mother was the epitome of biker royalty. Her dark brown hair was pushed away from her face, pinned by sunglasses. She also wore her typical cleavage barring shirts, her crow on proud display.

"Hi Ma," I smiled.

"Hi girls," Mom responded.

"What's going on?" Anna questioned.

"Can I talk to you two in private?" Mom asked.

Anna and I exchanged glances for a moment before we led Mom towards our back office. Once the door was shut, mom looked between us as if she was weighing what she was about to ask.

"I need to ask you girls a favor," Mom began. "They need seventy grand, cash by the end of the day."

"Fuck," Anna cursed.

"Ma, what happened?" I asked.

"I don't know details," Mom shook her head.

"We don't have that much layin' around," Anna sighed.

"I think I have around ten or so?" I mumbled.

"Same here," Anna said.

"We'll bring it by TM in a little bit," I shrugged. "Do you want something to eat while you're here, Mom?"

"No thanks, sweetie," Mom smiled kissing us both on the cheeks.

When Mom left we took turns running to the bank to pull out what we could afford. Together Anna and I came up with twenty grand, which I ran over to TM. Pulling into the lot, I noticed all the garage doors were down, except for one that was only halfway closed. Ma's caddy was gone, but most of the bikes were on the lot including Clay's and Jax's. I parked next to where the Cadillac should've been, grabbing the envelope full of money from the seat next to me

As I walked towards the office, I caught sight of a van that was on one of the lifts. Stopping short, I realized that this wasn't just any van but an ambulance. Changing directions I ducked under the halfway opened garage door just in time to hear my brother say, "We're flush for the Irish."

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" Clay asked.

"Ma said she needed help," I shrugged. "I was walking into the office when I saw the ambulance. Did you guys steal it?"

"We didn't steal anythin'," Chibs corrected. "That would be the Prospect's bright idea."

Now that we had five prospects, we normally had to differentiate them by name. But, as the veteran Prospect, Half-Sack sometimes didn't have to babysit the diner, working more hours at TM. Braden, Grayson, Austin, and Carter were the ones that got stuck with babysitting duty.

"I was just thinking outside the box," Half-Sack pouted.

"I'd say this definitely covers thinking outside the box," I shook my head. "Do you guys know those things are lo-jacked?"

"Jesus Christ, Half-Sack," Clay snarled. "Juice, disable the fuckin' lo-jack. Chibs, call the Irish, set a meeting. Everyone else get back to work."

I knew that Clay had grouped me into the 'everyone else' category and turned to head back to the car, content to go back to the diner. Before I could duck under the garage door, Dad's hand dropped on my shoulder.

"It was good to see you, sweetheart," Clay smiled kissing me on the forehead.

"Good to see you too, Dad," I grinned. "I'm going to head back to the diner. If you want there's coffee over their with your name on it."

"You spoil me," Clay shook his head.

I shrugged and smirked before walking back to my car, after waving at the others. I moved quickly into the diner, after parking my car, grinning when I saw that there was four bikes set side by side near the entrance. It showed how much of a 'biker' diner the Crow was; that there was an entire section of the parking lot just for motorcycles.

I shoved my coat under the counter, sticking Anna's money back into her purse. When I straightened up, I jumped back startled to see Donna only a few feet away from me.

"Donna!" I greeted happily, leaning over the counter to hug her. "How are Ellie and Kenny?"

"They're good, we're good," Donna nodded, smiling her thanks as I poured her a cup of coffee. "Iz, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I replied.

"You, Opie, Jax, Marco, and Anna grew up in the club, right?" Donna began.

"Yeah," I responded stopping to give Opie's wife my full attention. "There's a bunch of us who did."

"Jax told me that Opie can't be half in, half out," Donna sighed, burying her face in her hands. "He said Opie wouldn't ever walk away from the club, that it's all he knows. It's in his DNA."

"I don't see the question here, Donna," I whispered.

Donna looked up at me her eyes swimming with confusion before she continue I said, "Jax is right, Donna. My mom is too. I know you talked to her too, or she cornered you, or whatever but she's right. I know that all this can be confusing for people who weren't born into this lifestyle. When your husband's a Son you marry into the Sons. It's one giant family that would do anything for you, and you for them."

"He spent five years in jail for your family," Donna huffed. "He sat on his ass in jail while Clay and the others got rich."

"It wasn't like that, Donna," I replied. "Donna, I know. My father, my stepfather, Opie, Jax, and Marco have all done time. The entire club has. The sentences have varied but each and every time was awful. You miss them. You miss them something awful. But, it's the life. They do things that are illegal but the heart of everything is family. Brotherhood. These bonds don't break. Not over a prison sentence, petty arguments, nothing. These people have your back forever."

"What about Kyle?" Donna asked. "He was kicked out."

"Kyle was a coward who thought more about saving his own ass then worrying about his brother's," I retorted. "They're loyal people Donna. And the second one of them gets betrayed it's bad. It's really, really bad."

"I just can't…"

"Wrap your head around things?" I interrupted. "Yeah, it's insanely complex and yet it's simple. They're a brotherhood and the women are the glue. I love you Donna. And so do Gemma, Anna, Opie, Jax, Piney, Clay, and everyone else. It's a good thing. It's not good all the time but what is? What happened to Opie sucks but he doesn't have any ill will towards any of us or the club. You shouldn't either."

"Is it this nuts all the time?" Donna sighed.

"No," I shook my head. "Most of the time you won't even realize what the club's doing. Opie got released at a bad time, that's all."

"Donna!" Anna greeted walking out of the back office. "Everythin' okay?"

Donna moved closing the distance between herself and Anna and kissing her on the cheek. Obviously, I had missed the point where the two had reconciled.

"Of course," Donna replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Doctor said in a few more weeks," Anna smiled, rubbing a hand over her protruding stomach. "How's the runts?"

"They're good," Donna smiled. "Ellie got on honor roll."

"She definitely got her smarts from you, not Ope," Anna shook her head. "Everything okay between you two?"

"Of course," Donna shrugged. "You know, I think I'm starting to get all of this."

"And to think it only took you ten years," Anna smirked to ease the sting of her words.

"You're so sweet, Anna," Donna rolled her eyes.

"I know, it's revolting," Anna laughed. "You still need that job we were talking about?"

"You wouldn't mind?" Donna questioned.

"We know you and Ope need the money, Donna," Anna responded. "It's the least we could do to help. And, it's the only way we can help, Opie would kick our asses if we ever thought about giving him cash."

"Thank you," Donna smiled.

"No problem," I said, handing her an apron, pen, and pad of paper. "Basically you take people's orders, put them in the window and hand them back. For now you can work the counter. This is where the less fussy people sit."

I was pleasantly surprised by how fast Donna picked things up, by the end of the night she was carrying full platters of food to the tables. None of the other girls had picked things up that fast. By early evening the diner had picked up, all the booths were filled, as were counter seats. The prospects had made themselves useful, cleaning up after people and keeping things moving. As things began to clear out, the roar of motorcycles were heard, quickly becoming louder the closer they came. A pack of them flew by the windows, parking their bikes before they came into the diner. Chibs, Marco, Half-Sack, and Opie walked in and sat at the counter.

"Hello boys," I greeted. "What can I get you?"

"Coffee," They all said at once.

With a grin I quickly poured five cups of coffee.

"Donna?" Opie gasped when she came out of the back room after putting the dirty dishes in the sink, which Braden was currently washing.

"Hi, Ope," Donna responded cheerily.

Opie's jaw clenched as he sent me a scathing look before looking around for his sister. When he found her, he got up and stormed over to her. No one could hear their conversation but they could see Anna glaring up at her older brother before punching him in the shoulder and telling him to stop being a jackass. Apparently Donna hadn't talked to Ope about working at the diner. I coughed to cover a laugh, it didn't matter how old Anna got, pregnant or not pregnant, she was still the same as ever.

Opie seemed to let the subject drop, sitting back down amongst his brothers as I served them some left over macaroni and cheese. Those guys were always hungry. The boy stuck around as things people began trickling out. The prospects, save for Half-Sack were busy cleaning and straightening up as Anna counted the money in the register before taking all the money to the back and putting it in the safe.

Nearly an hour later everyone had gone home, including all the Prospects and Marco who told me he'd wait up for me. I was straightening a few things when I realized a second too late that the front door hadn't been locked. I really had to stop doing that.

The bell chimed indicating the open door and I straightened to my full height. The sign on the door said we were closed and all the lights save for the lights in the office were off. Grabbing the gun, I crept into the main room, flipping on all the lights as I aimed the gun at whoever had come in. I rolled my eyes, huffing in irritation when I saw that it was just Jax and Damien.

"You a'ight?" Jax asked.

"Yup," I yawned. "What about you?"

"Fine," Jax smirked. "Abel's out of the toaster."

"Jax, that's great!" I cheered.

Jax smiled widely as I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head on his chest. We stayed like that for a moment before Jax's, Damien's, and my phone began to ring. Exchanging perplexed glances with one another, we each answered the phone. Whenever pre-paids rang like that nothing good came of it.

"Marco?" I questioned. "What's wrong?"

"Someone tried to kill Clay tonight," Marco said. "Get to the club house."

Before I could respond, he had already hung up. I stared at my phone in shock. It wasn't often that someone actually had the balls to try to assassinate the President of the founding charter. One of the last three living members of the First Nine, it was an open declaration of war. Whoever had done this, did not even know the shit storm that was brewing.

"Leave your car," Jax ordered.

Not bothering to argue, I pulled on my jacket and my bag. I pulled my keys out of my jacket pocket, following Damien and Jax out of the diner, after I locked up; I followed them into the parking lot. I hopped onto the bitch seat on my brother's bike, taking his offered helmet and strapping it to my head as I wrapped my arms around his waist. With a jolt both motorcycles were flying down the street, gunning towards TM. When we arrived, things were a complete clusterfuck. Everyone, and I mean everyone was at the clubhouse.

"Clubhouse," Jax ordered as I handed back his helmet.

Deciding that now was not the time for a smart-assed comment, although, one was on the tip of my tongue, I bit it back, and stalked into the clubhouse slamming the door with all the pent up frustration of the past week or so. I don't know when time had changed, but it felt like I was a kid again, not the twenty-four year old woman, an old lady to one of the founding nine.

"Well, you look down right cheery," Anna snarked.

"Shut up, Prego," I responded.

"Feisty this evening," Anna smirked. "About time, Teller."

I rolled my eyes as I scanned the club some other old ladies were milling out, some kids, no patched member, though. They were probably in the garage or the Chapel. But, the cigar box that held all their cell phones when meetings took place was absent from the pool table.

"Do you know if he's hurt?" I whispered.

"I don't think so," Anna replied. "They haven't told us much but I think things would be a lot more tense if he had been shot or something."

"Never a dull day, huh?" I muttered. My mind flashing back to the conversation that I had with Donna, promising her that it wasn't this crazy all the time. Damn boring, my ass. This life was craziness, all the time, and it was all we could do to keep our heads above water.

"Evidently not," Anna snorted.

"We're just supposed to wait here?" I frowned.

"Lockdown," Anna shrugged.

There had been numerous lockdowns over the year. Some were planned others, like this one, were spur of the moment. More rushed and panicked. If I had to chose between the two lockdowns, I preferred the planned ones. When Mom and the other Old Ladies teamed up and made sure there were enough beds and food.

"I'm going to check on things," I announced a little bit later.

Without waiting for Anna to respond, I moved out of the clubhouse, walking quickly to the garage. I walked through the office and into the garage, noticing that the ambulance was still here.

"Holy shit," Mom snapped. "Where'd we get an ambulance?"

"Numb nuts stole it," Chibs explained, from inside the aforementioned vehicle.

"We'll patch up the Irishman," Clay said.

"Alright, so what do you need me to do?" Mom asked.

"We're gonna have a full house tomorrow, if you could prep that?" Clay asked. "You know, food and booze."

"Okay, I'll get the girls into it," Mom replied. "Man, I hate this shit."

"Dad?" I asked when Mom pulled away.

"Iz," Clay sighed.

He pulled me into his arms hugging me close. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding two handfuls of fabrics as I burrowed into his arms. I had almost lost another father tonight.

"I'm okay, sweetheart," Clay promised. "Still in one piece."

"Good," I muttered pulling away.

I was about to say something else when I heard a low groaning from the inside of the ambulance. Stepping around dad I saw the Irishman on the gurney, blood everywhere. He'd been shot in the ass. Twice.

"What…?" I asked.

"He got hit instead," Clay explained.

"T'bullet's blockin' an artery," Chibs sighed. "T'only way we're savin' his life is if I get some surgical tools."

"Like what?" Tig asked.

"Scalpels, sutures, that kind o' shite," Chibs snapped.

"Chibs, right down a list of what you need, I'll see if Tara can help," Jax ordered.

"Aye, no problem, kid," Chibs nodded.

"Be careful," Mom said, glancing around the room.

The guys nodded in affirmative and Mom nodded in return before turning to me, "Come on, baby."

Everyone jumped when Grayson slammed through one of the still open garages, breathing heavily.

"What the fuck, prospect?" Clay barked, rattling him even further.

"It's Anna, Clay," Grayson stated, gasping. "She started wheezing and then passed out."

"Did you call an ambulance, you idiot?" Jax questioned.

"Yeah," Grayson replied. "Piney's with her. She's not breathing…"

I didn't even see Juice in the garage before he was moving around everyone, sprinting towards the clubhouse with Jax and I at his heels. It took Mom and Clay a second before they were running as well. Slamming through the clubhouse doors, I saw Anna on the ground, her head in Piney's lap, his breathing mask over her face. He was giving her CPR but she wasn't responding.

"Jesus," Jax hissed.

"Anna!" I yelled. She was pale, way too pale. Her normal slightly tanned skin was bone white, her eyes shut, and body limp.

"Izzy!" Jax snapped, snagging my arm, whirling me around and pinning me to his chest, my arms trapped at my sides as I squirmed.

"Let me go!" I growled. "Jax, please, I gotta help her."

"What happened?" Jax asked, ignoring me.

"Asthma attack," Piney shook his head. "I didn't know it was this fucking bad."

"No one knew, Pop," Opie soothed.

"Ambulance is here!" Half-Sack called seconds before EMT's rushed into the clubhouse. The quickly strapped Anna to a gurney, wheeling her out of the clubhouse. They let Juice and Piney ride in the ambulance with her. Not that Anna would know she had still been unresponsive.

"Come on, we'll meet them at the hospital," Clay ordered.

Everyone followed mom and dad out of the clubhouse and over to the cluster of bikes. Breaking formation, Opie and Piney were at the front quickly followed by my parents, Jax, Marco and I, and then the rest of the members. One would think that the hospital staff at both St. Thomas would be use to waiting rooms filled with Sons of Anarchy members and their families. They weren't, however, all the suspicious looks alone were enough to enrage even the most even-tempered of us.

Hours went by and we still hadn't heard about Anna. Donna had left the kids with Neeta, the club's resident baby sitter and Bobby's old lady. She was sitting next to Opie who looked over to the locked double doors leading to the main floor of ICU and the clock. Juice was pacing back and forth while the rest of us sat in the chairs, barely masking the fact that as time went on we became more and more worried.

Anna had been fine when I left to see if everything was okay in the garage and now she wasn't. I don't even remember the last time she had an asthma attack. It had been years, ten at least. The knowledge that one had been bad enough to knock her out was awful. The situation had was made even worse by the fact that Anna was pregnant, Anna not breathing was bad enough for the state of her own health, but what had that done to the baby?

"Family of Annemarie Winston?" One of the Doctor's asked.

"Here," Opie said, his hand-sweeping out to encompass all of us.

I had to hand it to the Doctor that he didn't even bat at eye instead he cleared this throat and made eye contact with each of us, "One of Annemarie's lungs collapsed. The asthma attack was no doubt brought on by stress. We were able to repair the damage; she's still unconscious. Just to warn you all, there is a breathing tube down her throat. We'll take it out when she wakes up."

"What about the baby?" Juice demanded.

"You're the father?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Juice mumbled.

"They're fine," The Doctor soothed. "They're both thriving despite the severity of the asthma attack."

"Both?" Juice asked.

"Congratulations, sir," The Doctor grinned. "You're the father of twins. A healthy baby boy and girl."

Juice seemed a little shell-shocked but everyone else was excited. Twins were an exciting concept, something nice to think about. Instead of dwelling on the fact that Anna was still unconscious. After one in the morning everyone except for Piney, Opie, Juice, and Donna were kicked out of the waiting room. It was only with a little more cajoling that we convinced hospital staff for two of the prospects to stay with her. Even if Anna was in the hospital she was still at risk.

By the time we got back to the clubhouse the other Old Ladies had pulled through. There were platters of food, booze, and even more food in the refrigerator. The walls were lined with deflated air mattresses and enough blankets for anyone who could possibly show up. In the time we were all at the hospital the Fresno and Nomad charters had already arrived, with the others on their way. It was straight out of the lockdowns of my childhood, with members on the roof carrying guns, the only times that guns were allowed anywhere near the clubhouse.

Bright and early the next morning, Anna was released from the hospital. Once everyone with a Redwood patch, and anyone related to said patch holder were safely in the clubhouse, everything shut down. The diner and the automotive shop were at a standstill. In other places the residents might've been ticked that two of the main establishments in Charming had shut down for an undetermined amount of time, here everyone knew it happened on occasion and functioned as though nothing had changed. Anna was still exhausted, the asthma attack always took a lot out of her. But, she hid it well as she slid onto one of the stools between mom and I.

"Twins okay?" I asked.

"They're being kept for observation," Anna confessed. "Tara said they'll be fine."

"You think of names yet, baby?" Mom asked.

"Devin Marie and Noah Adrian Ortiz," Anna smiled.

"Those are great names," Mom grinned.

We all smiled at one another before our eyes swiveled back towards the security monitors. A comfortable silence filled the room only to be broken by Mom twenty minutes later.

"Where's Jax?" Mom growled softly.

"I think he went to find Tara," I shrugged.

"That was hours ago," Mom shook her head. "He went straight to her house from the hospital."

"I'm sure he's okay, Gem," Anna soothed.

Mom nodded her head but I could tell that the fact that both her children weren't within arms reach were bothering her. Jax and I might be thirty and twenty-four respectively, but we'd always be Gemma Teller's babies.

"Until we see where this lands you three stay put, understand?" Clay ordered coming around to where Mom, Anna, and I were gathered around the bar's counter one eye on the security cameras and one ear listening to the surrounding areas and ready to act when Abel woke up.

"What if they got to him?" Mom snapped.

"Jax can take care of himself, Gem," Tig soothed from one of the neighboring tables, close enough to here the conversation.

"So can we," I mumbled.

It was the truth too. I could understand the lockdown, and I did. I had seen what happened when Sam Crow were caught unawares but Mom, Anna, and I were far from defenseless. The guys had taught every one of us how to shoot a gun, and fist fight but it would never stop them from putting people on us whenever something went sideways.

"Don't start that shit, Izzy," Clay reprimanded. When I moved to tell him as much he silenced me with a look.

"I'll take a ride to the hospital see if he's there," Opie offered. He had finally come back into the SOA, with Donnas' blessing, of course. "I called his cell and Tara's house a million times. No answer."

"I'll go with you," Piney announced.

The guys weren't supposed to go anywhere alone either. People doubled up, which was half the reason why Mom was so worried about Jax, he had gone to Tara's alone, promising he'd pick her up and bring her right to the clubhouse with the medical supplies Chibs needed. Rising to his feet, Opie shrugged into his cut moving over to kiss Mom, Anna, and I on the cheek before he walked out of the clubhouse.

"Take care of my boys," Mom ordered glancing over at Piney.

"Always," He promised.

I kept myself busy by getting people coffee and food when everyone had been served I grabbed a cup of coffee for myself before reclaiming my seat next to Anna. Taking a sip, I watched the security camera noticing the police cruiser driving onto the grounds.

"Unser's at the back door," Mom announced

"Let him in," Clay ordered and then gestured towards the Chapel's doors where Cameron, the new liaison between the True IRA and SOA was. He still had the bullets in his body and Chibs was getting antsy. The wounds were beginning to get infected.

"Shut those doors and keep him quiet," Tig stated, sharply before he shut the doors.

One of the prospects had jumped up to open the door for Unser, stepping out of the way so that he could walk inside.

"What can I do for you, chief?" Clay asked.

"I need to bring you down to the station house," Unser replied. "Ask a few questions."

"Why?" Mom questioned. "What happened?"

"Someone went after Darby last night," Unser explained. "Killed one of his guys and two women. At his house, in Charming."

"You think it was us?" Clay scoffed.

"I also found two dead Mayans in a ditch off 18," Unser retorted. "Last time I checked the NORD's and Mayans were the away team."

"Well, you're rooting for the home team," Clay quipped

Unser's eyes narrowed, obviously not appreciating the joke at his expense, "can I talk to you for a minute?"

"It's okay Gem," Tig whispered when Mom moved out of her chair moving to follow after Clay.

Clay and Unser talked quietly, too quietly for me to hear what was going on. The conversation obviously wasn't going the way I expected it to when Clay suddenly opened the Chapel doors where Chibs, Juice, and the Irishman were. I hadn't been in there since Cameron had been moved but I could only guess that it was just as grisly as it had been hours ago. The conversation grew more heated after that as they both gestured angrily.

Finally, Unser seemed to get irritated enough to growl, "I need you to come with me. Alright? Due process."

"I got nothin' to hide," Clay shrugged.

"Hey, you do not go alone," Tig approached moving closer to Clay.

"I think I can keep him safe," Unser responded moving in between Clay and Tigger.

"I'll be alright," Clay soothed. "You hold it together here."

"I'll meet you down there," Mom stated.

"No!" Clay snapped. "You stay put."

Mom bristled about to say something but Clay beat her too it, grabbing her face between his hands and kissing her firmly. As he followed Unser out of the clubhouse he exchanged significant looks with Tig.

"Yeah I'll watch them," Tig said.

I didn't have to look at my mother or Anna to know we all rolled our eyes at the same time. Most of the time the clubhouse was fun with the booze and the music. But, during times like this it was incredibly boring. Being trapped somewhere and knowing you couldn't leave tended to suck the fun out of anything. I still watched the cameras while Mom wandered into the Chapel. I flinched and winced when I heard a squeal of pain seconds before the Chapel doors were thrown open. I turned around to look at Mom, who seemed be completely livid.

"This is insane!" Mom snapped.

"Whoa, whoa," Tig growled trailing after her, grabbing her arm to halt her movements. "Where do you think you're going, Gemma?"

"To find Jax and Tara," Mom stated.

"You heard Clay, he said family stays put," Tig retorted.

"Look, Tigger, you got two choices, tackle me or tag along," Mom growled.

"Now, look, I got nothin' but adoration for you, why you givin' me such a hard time for?" Tig complained.

"It's my nature," Mom quipped. "I'm a giver."

I masked a chuckle as Mom slammed Tig against the wall brushing aside as she walked out of the clubhouse.

"This is why I beat hookers," Tig mumbled before trailing after Mom.

Even if he was annoyed that Mom wasn't cooperating, Tig would never go against Clay's orders. He also would never lay a finger on Mom, Anna, or I. We were the Sergeant-at-arms weak spots, and unfortunately for him, we knew it. It took nearly a half hour of convincing to get Tig to let Anna and I go to work.

Jax and Tara had arrived seconds after Tig and Mom had come back. Tara went into Doctor-mode and had closed the Chapel doors, carrying her giant kit of medical supplies. While Tara was a pediatric surgeon, I knew that Cameron was in good hands. And even if he wasn't, it was the best he was going to get since he couldn't go to the hospital. He was on enough federal watch lists to get all the National agencies in Charming by the end of the day.

Clay was still at the station house, and who knew how long Unser would keep him there. The Oregon, Utah, Washington, Nevada charters had all come within hours of one another. The rest were in constant communication with Juice. Who was stretched a little thin, between helping Chibs, keeping the Irishman alive by plugging one of his bullet holes, and talking to the other charters scattered all over the country and Europe. McGee, Belfast's president had called once or twice and he was the one who kept English and German charters up to speed. It was necessary for them to know what had almost happened to Clay. And maybe the Mayans stretched further than I had thought.

After Mom had sort of given Tig the slip, he had cracked down, barely letting any of us out of his sight. But, after both Anna and I had made it clear that we wouldn't stop bothering him until he let us go to the diner, with escorts, he finally folded. Bobby and three of the prospects drove us to the diner, where my car was still parked. Unlocking the door, Anna and I hurried to the kitchen, calling up Tori and Kat, as well as all of our waitresses as we started making coffee.

Within two hours The Crow diner was functioning like it had never opened late. People were coming and going, coffee flowed and food flew out of the kitchens. We ran a well-oiled machine that could almost always bounce back from late openings or anything else. I moved on autopilot for a while. Balancing our books, making sure people had coffee, and calling TM to make sure things were still going okay. The last phone call had told me that Cameron now had both slugs out would make a full recovery, thank god for small favors.

"What the fuck?" Anna snarled.

My head whipped up and I saw Anna glowering at a woman I thought we'd never have to see again.

"Annemarie Winston?" The woman questioned. "Agent Stahl, ATF."

"I remember you," Anna responded curtly. "Can I help you, _Agent_?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd be able to accompany me to the stationhouse," Agent Stahl shrugged.

"Am I under arrest?" Anna demanded.

"No," Agent Stahl replied. "Child services wants to talk to you. But, they let ATF talk to you first."

"Isn't that nice," Anna scoffed.

"Come on, Ms. Winston," Agent Stahl prodded. "Unless you want to make this official?"

Anna and I glanced down in time to see Agent Stahl holding her handcuffs, one light brown eyebrow raised. I hated her, and not just because she was an ATF agent. She had this high and mighty attitude that made my palm itch to smack it off.

**Anna's Point of View**

It was nice to get out of the clubhouse for only a little while. Truth be told, I was contemplating snagging Izzy's car in order to head back to TM, both to check on everyone as well as get some more sleep. Then ATF showed up and sprouted off some bullshit about Child Services.

"One of the princesses of the Sons of Anarchy," Stahl smirked once we were seated in Charming PD's only interrogation room. "I'm honored."

"Go fuck yourself," I snapped.

"Well, you are just as sharp-tongued as I was told you would be," Stahl shook her head.

"Why would I ever be nice to you?" I questioned. "You and the rest of you scum threaten my family every couple of months."

"Your family are a bunch of criminals," Stahl retorted. "And we'd be doing your twins, your brother's children, and Jackson Teller's boy a favor if we pulled them from your custody."

"We all might have criminal history but we're not neglectful," I growled straightening up. "Our children are never exposed to anything harmful, not drugs or alcohol or anything. We're not abusive either. You have no grounds to take them from us."

"You're smart, Annemarie, I'll give you that," Stahl nodded before dropping her voice. "But who you think Child Services will believe? The person with the criminal record or the Federal Agent?"

"You might be right," I stated. "But, I know what you're doing. You think by threatening my nephews, and niece you'll get me to betray the Sons? Sweetheart, I just own a diner, I'm the girlfriend of a motorcycle enthusiast. The Sons of Anarchy are a motorcycle club, nothing more."

"And that's what you've been taught to say since you were little, right?"

"You don't have anything, do you?" I smirked. "That why you're pumping me for information. I'll save both of us some time, sweetheart, I don't know anything."

"Well, we have the porn star and the girl from Nevada in custody too," Stahl smirked. "Something tells me they won't be as well versed as you in the art of keeping secrets."

"I thought you needed a clean psych evaluation to be able to work for the government, Agent Stahl," I raised an eyebrow. "Did you just slip through the cracks? I'll say it one more time: We don't know anything about the Sons of Anarchy because there's nothing to know. They ride Harley Davidson's, I hardly think that's enough to get the government's interest."

"Maybe your sister-in-law will be more willing to give over information about the Sons of Anarchy," Stahl shrugged.

"Now I know you're desperate," I shook my head in pity. "Donna doesn't know anything about the Sons. And if you continue to waste the government's money I don't think your boss will be very happy with you."

"You're free to go, Ms. Winston," Stahl snapped.

"I thought you said CPS had to talk to me?" I snickered, rising to my feet. "You gotta work on your lying skills honey. They can save your life one day."

I shouldn't have been surprised to see two motorcycles in the lot waiting for me but I was. Juice was leaning against his bike with Half-Sack by his side. Iz must've called the clubhouse after I had been taken in. I smiled at my boyfriend walking down the stairs and into his waiting arms.

"Hi baby," Juice whispered.

"Hey, sexy," I grinned.

"I hate that ATF bitch," Juice growled when we pulled apart.

"She's scramblin' babe," I shook my head.

"No, she isn't," Juice sighed, "she's trying to use RICO."

"Jesus fuckin' Christ," I muttered. "Does she have anything."

"Luann's in lockup," Juice explained.

"Fuck," I mumbled. "They're using Luann as leverage for Otto."

Juice didn't have to say a word, I knew that was exactly what Stahl was doing. Otto was one of the most loyal members of Sam Crow but he also loved Luann with every fiber of his being. He would do anything to protect his old lady, any of the guys would. But, even the smallest detail about the Sons when someone was trying to pull a RICO act was important. And everyone went down if it was successful.

The RICO act, otherwise known as The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, was a major pain in our collective asses. Any violation of state statures against gambling, murder, kidnapping, extortion, arson, robbery, and bribery. I knew that the Sons extorted businesses for protection and technically getting guns from the True IRA was considered an act of terrorism. Whenever a Fed tried to use RICO any information was useful, meaning that while Otto wouldn't intentionally sell out the club, he might accidently by using something old.

"Come on," Juice prodded. "Izzy shut the diner back down."

"Because she wanted to?" I asked.

"Jax and Clay made her," Juice smirked.

"We're under another lockdown?" I sighed.

"Sort of," Juice muttered. "Just trying to make sure we know where everyone is."

"Well then we shouldn't keep people waiting," I declared, taking my helmet from the back of Juice's bike before hopping onto the seat. I wrapped my arms around his waist resting my head on his shoulder as he floored the engine, gunning it out of the police precinct's parking lot and going towards TM.

Things weren't quite as locked down as they had been for the past couple of days. The automotive side of Teller-Morrow was once again up and running, which was probably bugging the hell out of Izzy, she hated closing the diner. Or more to the point she hated being stuck in the clubhouse for an undisclosed amount of time. Izzy always complained that I was the one who got us into trouble, but she was the one who could sneak out of a full Sam Crow lockdown, without anyone knowing she was gone. It was s something that drove everyone absolutely nuts. These guys weren't use to being disobeyed, especially a five foot, one hundred pound girl.

"We're at the table," Tig snapped once Juice rolled up, barely letting either of us off the bike before dropping the bomb. "You get in touch with Rosen?"

Juice and I got off of the motorcycle, placing our helmets on the handlebars before we walked into the clubhouse. Juice and Tig dropped their cell phones in the cigar box on the pool table, kissed me on the cheek before walking into the chapel. Glancing at the double doors I moved across the open space and into the apartment.

"Stahl give you a hard time?" Izzy asked. I hadn't even heard the door open.

"Nothin' I couldn't handle," I smirked. "She's tryin' to use RICO."

"I heard," I shook my head. "Luann and Cherry are in lock-up."

"Cherry?" Izzy scoffed. "She's the prospect's old lady. She doesn't know shit about Sam Crow."

"Yeah, well, Luann does," I responded. "And Otto will do anything for her."

"That's why they're at the table?" Izzy tilted her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"If Otto's as smart as I remember, he'll request visitation," I muttered. "Maybe Luann'll realize something's up."

"I hope so," Izzy mumbled. "She's been Ma's best friend for years, she should be quick on the uptake."

"I just hope no ones gets put away for this," I frowned. "It's bad enough that Otto's still in Stockton."

**Anna's Point of View **

_September 30, 2003_

_Opie and I had almost never been away from each other. Of course he went on runs but he always made sure to check in with both Donna and I. When Opie was on a run, I was comforted by the fact that he had back up and would be home in a few days. Opie was being held in Chino after a run had gone bad. He couldn't call anyone and Rosen, the lawyer who went to bat for anyone related to Sam Crow, could barely see Opie, he was locked down entirely. At least whenever Ope had been held overnight in the station house, I could talk to him and post bail. This time he was on complete federal lockdown. His affiliation with the Sons was enough for ATF to use all the power of their authority to keep him away from us._

_I had no idea what had happened. No one would say anything and any time I attempted to bring it up someone else would change the topic. I was all alone at the diner, Gemma needed Izzy's help with the filing over at TM, leaving me to run the diner._

"_Annie, phone for you," Tori called._

"_Okay, thanks Tori," I replied picking up the office extension, "Hey, what's going on?"_

"_You should get over here," Izzy announced without preamble. "Everyone just went into the clubhouse."_

"_What?" I asked._

"_Anyone with a Sam Crow patch is here right now," Iz explained. "And it's not Sunday."_

"_We're not allowed in on those meetings," I pointed out, failing to see where Izzy's reasoning was._

"_Yeah but this could be our first clues as to what happened with Ope and Kyle," Izzy responded._

"_I'll be right there," I growled._

"_Diner's closed everybody, please find your nearest waitress and she'll give you take-out containers and a coupon for your next meal," I announced. "Tori and Kat can you shut down for me?"_

"_No problem, sweetheart," Tori replied._

_I ran down the steps and into my car, flooring it over to TM. When I got there I parked in between Izzy and Gemma's cars, noticing that all the motorcycles were present, just like Izzy had said. There might've even been a few more because I saw some bikes I didn't recognize. _

_Before I could find either of the Teller women, the door to the clubhouse was thrown open. Kyle Hobart was walked out, his blue gaze icy as he looked around the compound. The first thing I noticed was that Kyle wasn't wearing his cut, or any of thing that would identify him as a member, which was forbidden. Once you were a Son, you wore the reaper with pride no matter where you were, unless you ordered not to, like on a run. _

"_Kyle?" I questioned._

"_Anna," Kyle grimaced stopping near me and looking like he wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but here._

"_What's going on?" I asked. "Was the meeting about Ope? Do you guys know anything new?"_

"_Annie, I-"_

"_Stop fucking talking to her, Hobart!"_

_I jumped at the unabashed rage in Jax's voice as I took an unconscious step backwards. I don't think I had ever seen Jax look that angry. Looking between Jax and Kyle made me even more confused. Jax, Opie, and Kyle were friends close enough in age to have been friends even without the club. Now, though, Jax was looking at Kyle like he was the enemy._

"_What's going on?" I asked._

"_Get outta here, Hobart, you know you don't belong here," Jax ordered sharply._

"_No," I retorted, grabbing Kyle's arm and stilling his retreat. "Someone tell me what the fuck is going on. Opie's locked up, Jax! I don't know if he's okay and no one will tell me what happened."_

"_The only reason why Opie is locked up right now, and probably will remain so is because of Kyle," Jax sneered. "He was Opie's get away ride."_

"_He was Opie's get away ride," I repeated. It took a moment for that to sink in, if whatever they had been doing required a get-away ride, there was a far amount of risk involved. And if Kyle was free and Opie was locked up that meant…_

"_You left him?" I growled._

"_It wasn't like that, Anna," Kyle disagreed._

"_Bullshit," Jax snarled._

"_Jackson!" Gemma called from the office. "Can you come in here?"_

"_Yeah," Jax called back. "You better be gone by sunrise, Hobart."_

_Before Kyle or I could say another word, Jax turned on his heel and walked into the office, shutting the door behind him. I stared at Kyle, still unable to believe that he would just look out for himself. Betrayal and white hot rage rushed through my veins as I glared at the excommunicated Son._

"_I'm sorry," Kyle whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. I heard the sirens and I panicked. By the time I swung back around Ope was already in the back of a cop car."_

"_He wouldn't be in that cop car if it wasn't for you," I retorted._

"_No, it would've been both of us," Kyle snapped. "They were tipped off or something."_

"_You left him to rot," I hissed. _

"_It wasn't-"_

_The one thing that had always bothered me about Kyle was the fact that he could never take responsibility for his actions. Even if it was something small like forgetting to check the invoices or bring desert for the potlucks, he always had an excuse for everything. Only now his cowardice and irresponsibility was hurting my family. Donna was apprehensive enough about Sam Crow; we didn't need an arrest spooking her further. _

_I remembered how badly she reacted when Jax had been thrown into Stockton for five months over an assault and battery charge. Now that it was Opie didn't know how my sister-in-law would react. I had a niece and a nephew both under five and now Donna would have to raise them alone for god knows how long._

_All I wanted was or Kyle to stop apologizing and blaming the police. I just wanted him to walk away and leave me alone. Instead he kept trying to make me understand, get me on his side. Like having my blessing would get him back the Sons, if they had, in fact, thrown him out._

_My fist was a blur as I threw a punch just as I had been taught, using all the power I possessed to hit Kyle in the jaw. He toppled backwards, obviously surprised that I had thrown the punch. He didn't have time for much of a reaction as I tackled him to the ground. He was pinned under my thighs his stupid shocked face looking up at me. Once I started punching, I didn't stop. I threw punch after punch, yelling at him incoherently. His nose broke with a solid blow, sending blood flying all over me and pouring down his face. Still I continued punching. My words punctuated by my swinging fists and sobs. _

"_Anna!" _

_It was a clear and solid reprimand, one designed to stop me in my tracks but I was too far gone for that. I just wanted Kyle to pay for his actions. I didn't care that he had lost the club, had to get out of Charming, it wasn't enough. He had let Opie, left him to rot just because Kyle didn't want to see the inside of a jail cell. God only knew how long Opie would have to pay for Kyle's cowardice. And how hurt he must be. They were brothers, supposed to have one another's backs no matter what. Be ready to lay down their life to protect another. And yet Kyle had left Opie to rot, to face the consequences alone._

"_Fuck!" Juice yelped._

_At the moment Juice was a prospect he might've been in the clubhouse but he had no say in whatever had happened. He was, however, the first to notice that Kyle had yet to leave the premises and that I was currently beating the crap out of him. His arms wrapped around my waist pulling me away from Kyle who was moaning pitifully._

_I squirmed and kicked in his grasp putting up enough of a struggle that Juice was scrambling to restrain me._

"_Hey!" Juice shouted making his voice echo around. "A little help out here!"_

_All the guys seemed to react at once as the office door was thrown open and people were hustling out of the clubhouse's door. Marco was the first to reach us grabbing onto my other arm as he and Juice kept me pinned between the two of them._

"_Holy shit!" Clay growled._

"_That's my girl," Pop snickered from somewhere to my left._

"_He's still breathing," Tig announced. "He's just fucked up."_

"_Hey, hey, hey," Jax admonished, holding my face between his hands. "Calm down."_

_I shook my head, kicking my legs as Juice and Marco worked in tandem to move me away from Kyle and closer to the clubhouse. The other members were talking amongst themselves about what they should do about Kyle: take him to the hospital or leave him there._

"_Annie, you need to calm down," Jax continued, his eyes locking on mine. "You could've killed him. Would Ope want you to do that?"_

_When I didn't answer Jax's gaze grew stern, "Anna."_

"_No," I huffed. "Can you let me down?"_

"_You gonna stay away from Kyle?" Jax questioned._

"_Yes," I replied._

_With a look Juice and Marco dropped me on my feet. I stretched between them and looked at Jax. I sighed as I leaned back against the clubhouse. Jax grabbed my hand bringing my battered knuckles up to the dim light._

"_You could've killed him," Jax reproached. "We already stripped him of his patches."_

"_That won't do anything," I mumbled._

"_Neither does beating the crap out of him," Jax sighed. "But it made you feel better."_

"_Yeah, it did."_

"_Come on, little killer, let's clean you up."_

**Izzy's Point of View**

I loved spending nights in the clubhouse especially when the clubhouse wasn't overrun with sweet butts and other hangers-on. When it was just the family hanging out with on another. Tig, Chibs, and Bobby were playing pool, and drinking. Juice was at the front of the bar, watching the security cameras and looking at something. Clay was in his office talking to Rosen, Mom was at the table with a beer and papers spread out in front of her. Anna was sitting next to her father, laughing about something he had said.

I was sitting in Marco's lap exchanging little digs with Tig as he struggled to win back the money he had lost to Chibs. When the Chapel doors opened people's head swiveled in that direction to look at Clay.

"Luann's in the clear," Clay announced. "Otto, not so much."

"Why?" Bobby asked. "What happened?"

Clay grinned and chuckled as he said, "he shattered Stahl's face"

"Ooh, I love that man," Tig whooped as Chibs laughed.

"Trying to prove to the club that he wasn't gonna give anything up," Clay shrugged. "We're clear of the ATF, ladies and germs."

People whooped and cheering, downing beer and shots, exchanging hugs and high fives. I kissed Marco as I looked over to my parents. Ma had gone over to run the price of painting Jax's house by Clay. It was more of a formality, everyone knew that Ma had him wrapped around her finger.

"Okay, okay," Clay finally relented.

"That's why I love you," Ma grinned kissing him softly.

"Shit, Clay, cops!" Juice warned slamming his laptop shut seconds before the club door was thrown open, SWAT rushed in.

The main door flew open, cracking against the glass window, shattering it instantly.

"Everyone down!" SWAT officers screamed as one. "Get down!"

Marco and I leapt up only to be shoved to the ground near Tig. Juice and Anna were already on the ground closest to the bar. The white sneakers that Jax always wore came through the back hallway right before he was thrown to the ground by Clay's side. Clay didn't go down without a fight, especially after Ma was forcibly handled to the floor. I turned my head to see Stahl walking through the club house a victorious smile painted across her bruised face.

"Robert Munson, you're under arrest for the murder of Brandon Hefner," Stahl's partner announced. "You have the right to remain silent…"

"Who?" Bobby demanded.

"I'll call Rosen, Bobby," Clay shouted. "You just sit tight."

Another ATF agent kicked Clay in the stomach winding him and causing him to curl in on himself, his face screwed up in pain and fury.

"Hey!" Jax screamed.

"Bitch," Ma swore, spitting the Stahl's general direction.

It was then Stahl did the unthinkable, she kicked Ma in the stomach, "Manners Gemma, manners."

"Whoa," Chibs called out.

"Mom!" I yelped. "You fucking bitch."

"Charming's little princess," Stahl sneered. "How cute."

"What's wrong?" I responded back, looking up. "You get your little feelings hurt that the big, bad biker bashed your pretty little face in?"

No one told me to stop but Marco's sudden grip on my wrist told me that now wasn't the time to goad an agent. I only wondered what they thought they had. All I knew for sure was that Clay wasn't right, we weren't even close to being clear of the ATF. My intuition was sending up major warning signs: all of which were saying that our troubles were just beginning.


	13. Head on the Block

**Chapter Thirteen:**** Head on the Block**

"_Anyone can become angry, that's easy. But, to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way, that is not within everyone's power that is not easy."_

The Feds seemed to only come to arrest Bobby, leaving as quickly as they had blown through. No one said a word as we all rose to our feet and dusted ourselves off. I walked into the kitchenette to get ice for my mother and Clay, even though I was ninety percent sure the latter would refuse it. I walked back out only slightly surprised that the chapel doors were now closed, the cigar box filled with cell phones abandoned on the coffee table.

"Here, Ma," I whispered.

"Thanks, baby," Mom smiled. "Why don't you and Anna head home?"

"We should…"

"There's nothing you girls can do right now," Mom said. "When they come out I'll tell them where you both went. Take the prospects with you."

"Okay," I agreed, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Gemma," Anna smiled.

"Bye babies," Ma said moving to sit down on the couch.

The next morning brought no changes or answers. In this particular instance, no news wasn't so good. Whatever the Feds had against Bobby must be real and the guys were having a hard time working everything out. Deciding to find out what they did know, I dialed Marco's prepay, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"I'm in the middle of it, baby," Marco stated without preamble.

"I know," I replied, walking out of the bedroom. "You guys don't have anything?"

"It's a witness," Marco explained. "From what we can figure out that's the only thing making a case."

"No name?"

"Wit pro," Marco replied. "Really, babe, I gotta get back…"

"Okay," I sighed. "Love you."

"I love you."

I closed the flimsy prepaid phone with a click putting it on the small knick knack table in the hallway before I moved back to the bedroom. Not even a half hour later I was freshly showered wearing one of Marco's Sam Crow sweatshirts and a pair of jeans. I grabbed my car keys and purse on the way out and then made my way to the diner thinking about the witness situation.

The second the identity of the witness was released the feds would soon lose the only thing that could make their case. It was no secret that when the Sons found out who the witness was, they would dispose of him quickly. They would do whatever was needed to keep Bobby out of jail and since that was the only thing that the feds had against Bobby, they would have no choice but to let him go.

It was funny how use the customers of the diner were to random disturbances, most barely blinking as the front door was thrown open. Looking up from where I sat talking to Amanda about how asking for tips before even taking a customer's order was inappropriate, I saw Jax come storming into the diner, wearing his Reaper crew baseball cap, sweatshirt , and cut. He had his sun glasses in his hand and was looking around the diner.

"Go back to your section, Amanda," I ordered before saying, "Jax!"

"Hey," He greeted curtly. "Have you seen Ope or Donna today?"

"No," I replied. "Why? What's going on?"

"Mary showed up at TM today," Jax explained.

"Mary?" I repeated. "You mean Mary Winston? What the hell is she doing here?"

"She said that she got a call to pick up Kenny and Ellie at Department of Justice Facility," Jax whispered.

"Opie got picked up on that Hefner shit?" I questioned.

"I don't think so," Jax frowned. "I don't know, something doesn't feel right."

"Hey, Jax," Anna greeted coming in from the back room. "What's going on? You said my mother's here?"

"She's picking up Kenny and Ellie from the Department of Justice Facility in Stockton," Jax frowned.

"Oh, hell no," Anna growled. "There's no way in hell that toxic bitch is getting near them."

Neither Jax nor I had the chance to even say a word let alone stop her as she grabbed her car keys and bag and flew out of the diner. Seconds later her car's impressive engine turned over and she gunned it towards the interstate. I only hoped that Mary was nowhere close to Stockton when Anna got there. To say that the Matriarch of the Winston family was hated amongst the family was an understatement. Mary had left only a few months after my father had died, when Opie was sixteen and Anna was only nine.

"I can't believe Mary came back," I shook my head.

"Never thought I'd see her again," Jax mused.

"Does Clay know about all this? I asked.

"Yeah," Jax replied. "This isn't good, Izzy. Ope's been half-in, half-out for too long."

"That doesn't mean he'd rat," I responded. "And I thought that by Opie being there on that hit that he was in. All the way in."

"I don't know, Iz," Jax sighed. "That ATF bitch is smart. Ever since Otto beat her face in she has it out for us. We can't slip up at all."

"When the witnesses name's released all ya gotta do is kill 'em," I mumbled. "No testimony, no case."

"I don't think things are that simple anymore," Jax huffed.

People may've thought that discussing these things in public wasn't smart but the diner was so loud it was nearly impossible for people to overhear, not that anyone would be that stupid.

**Anna's Point of View**

My mother had been called in to pick up Kenny and Ellie? What the fuck were those feds playing at. I could understand them not calling Pops, he had a record, but I didn't. Aside from a few assault and battery cases, that is. I couldn't believe that trusted Mary fucking Winston to watch over two kids when she couldn't even last with Ope and I. She had up and ran, attempting to take us with her. We refused and she disappeared without another word and for fourteen years I didn't know if she was even alive, let alone still in the state of California.

"Miss! This is a restricted building, you can't just walk in here."

"Watch me," I snarled at the no name Agent. "You got a problem, go get Special Agent Stahl. She knows me. Where are the Winston's being held?"

"In the room right there," The Fed finally said. "I'm going to check with Agent Stahl to see if you're allowed here."

"Good, check away," I rolled my eyes.

"Anna, oh thank god," Donna gasped.

"Jesus, Donna what's going on?" I demanded after I hugged my sister-in-law.

"They haven't told us much," Donna frowned. "They said that Ope got picked up on some shooting thing. And we all had to come to the Department of Justice Facility. They threatened Kenny and Ellie with a foster home."

"That'll never happen, Donna, I promise," I vowed. "I'll get the little monsters and keep 'em at my house."

"Your mother's supposed to come and get them," Donna whispered.

"No," I shook my head. "No way. That bitch can't be trusted."

Before Donna could say a word the door opened and the woman I hadn't seen in fourteen years walked through that door.

"Where are the kids?" Mary asked.

"In the cafeteria, finishing dinner," Donna replied.

"Not that it's any of your concern, _Mom_," I snapped. "I can watch them."

"Hello Annemarie," Mary greeted, coolly. "You want to tell me what's going on here? What's your brother done now?"

"You don't have to worry about a thing," I hissed. "Just run back to whatever rock you crawled out of, you're not needed here."

"They think Opie might be involved in a shooting," Donna mumbled.

"Oh, sweetheart," Mary frowned sparing me a disapproving glance. "You're not in lockdown for might be. This shit never ends. He's going to be back in jail."

"He's your son!" Donna retorted. Her voice twisted in disgust.

"He's a criminal just like his father," Mary snapped. "He made his choice."

"He was sixteen when you bailed," I snarled.

"I tried to take you both with me," Mary growled. "To get you away from all this shit. You both refused."

"Because Pop taught us loyalty, obviously something you chose to forget when you abandoned your family," I spat. "You're not touching Kenny or Ellie. I don't give a shit if Ope let you seem them before. You're not going to poison them against the only life they've ever known."

"I'm not poisoning them!" Mary shouted. "Opie and your father are. The fucking club destroys whatever it touches. What happened to you? You were such a sweet little girl."

"You left me when I was nine!" I shook my head. "Uncle John had just died. Everything was different and scary. And I needed my mom and you left. I didn't even know what was going on with everything. Gemma was there for Izzy but you couldn't even be there for me. Gemma was stronger than you could ever be. As far as I'm concerned you were dead the second you ditched us"

"Anna," Mary sighed.

"You don't get to call me that anymore," I corrected sharply. "Donna, I'll go get Kenny and Ellie from the cafeteria. Call me when you and Ope get out?"

"Of course," Donna nodded. "Thanks again, Anna, you're a life saver."

I kissed Donna on the cheek and while I wished that I could at least see Opie before I left but I knew that I was pushing my luck by even being allowed to pick up Kenny and Ellie in the first place. I hitched my bag further on my shoulder before I went out of the children's holding room, not even sparing my mother a glance.

"Aunt Annie!" Kenny squealed the second I entered the cafeteria.

"Hey, buddy," I smirked crouching down to hug him. "You ready to go home."

"Yeah," Kenny nodded.

"Come on, Ellie, let's get you both home."

"Is Dad in trouble again, Aunt Anna?" Ellie questioned.

"No, honey," I soothed. "Someone's just playing a joke on your Dad."

"It's not funny," Ellie grumbled.

"I agree with you, baby girl," I sighed. "But your mom and dad will be home soon."

**Juice's Point of View**

"Juice, c'mere a minute!" Clay ordered as I walked into the clubhouse.

"Hey, Clay, what do you need?" I asked walking over to where he was sitting by the bar.

"I want you to check up on Ope," Clay said.

"I'll get that right away," I nodded.

Opie was being held in the Department of Justice. For exactly what we didn't know. But ne of the only things that place was good for was shuttling people off into witness protection. With Bobby Elvis in lockdown, and Clay almost being assassinated, the club was a little on edge. But, would Opie rat on the club? It didn't seem likely. I couldn't wrap my head around it, if he was he'd be killed and I could only imagine what that would do to Anna. The Winston siblings were close, both were protective of one another and if Anna even thought that Opie was in danger, she'd kill for him. God only knows what Opie's could be betrayal could do to Piney and Anna.

I shook my head as I opened a new e-mail, "Oh, shit." This was bad, this was really, really bad.

"I just got an e-mail from our guy over at San Joaquin Savings and Loans," I announced walking towards Clay and Tig. "He checked Opie's finances."

"And?" Clay asked.

"Someone paid off a huge chunk of his debt," I grimaced. "Federal wire transfer. Mortgage, credit cards, car payments."

"This stays with the three of us," Clay ordered.

"Go," Tig whispered.

**Izzy's Point of View**

"We're shutting down early today people!" I called "This is your half hour warning."

"You okay?" Tex asked as I wandered back and forth behind the counter.

"No," I answered honestly and quickly. "I'm not."

"Want to talk about it?" Tex offered.

"No," I replied.

"Aunt Izzy!" Kenny Winston yelled as the door to the diner banged open.

"Kenny!" I returned with equal enthusiasm. "How's it goin' kiddo?"

"Better now," Kenny responded.

"You want a grilled cheese?" I asked.

"Okay," Kenny smiled jumping onto the empty stool next to Tex.

"Hey, Tori can you make three grilled cheese deluxe?" I questioned.

"No problem, sweetie," Tori called.

I looked up in time to see Anna ushering in Ellie. Anna's hair was tied back and her eyes continued to flash as she gestured for her niece to take the seat next to her brother.

"How's it going?" I asked cautiously as Ana joined me behind the counter.

"The witness said there's two other guys that were at Hefner's hit," Anna murmured. "Jax and Opie."

"Order up!" Kat informed us, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

Anna and I whirled around grabbing the order and placing two of the plates in front of Ellie and Kenny, while Anna and I snacked on the third. Customers had wrapped it up shortly after my announcement. The normally lighthearted atmosphere that the diner normally exuded was missing, which was probably why people all but ran out of there. At the moment only the prospect and a few of the waitresses remained, cleaning up and powering down for the night.

"You call if you hear anything," I ordered as I locked the door behind us, watching as people starting to go there separate ways.

"Of course," Anna replied, giving me on the cheek.

I climbed into my car, watching as Anna waited for Ellie and Kenny to climb in before driving towards her house with Tex and Ace flanking her on either side. I was careful not to make any sudden turns, conscious that both Braden and Grayson were following me, making sure I got home okay. Ever since Clay's attempted assassination, Anna and I had to be escorted home. Our houses even got a complete security overall with new, tighter systems.

On the way home I drove by my brother's house, just to check up on things. Everything looked normal, except for the fact that the lights were on. I swerved into the driveway, knowing that no one was in there because the paint was still drying. And with Abel coming home tomorrow, Jax wasn't all the way moved in yet.

"Izzy?" Braden questioned as I jumped out of the car, making a beeline to the back of the house.

"Just stay with me," I ordered firmly.

I used the key that my brother had given me creeping in silently, ready for anything, except for maybe someone quietly unpacking groceries. I noticed the bags in the living room and sneered. This bitch had perfect timing.

"Un-fucking-believable," I snapped.

"Izzy?" Wendy gasped holding a hand to her chest.

"You clean?" I demanded.

Before she could answer I heard the jingle of car keys. I turned to look behind me and saw Mom standing next to me.

"Jax told me it was okay if I stayed here," Wendy announced looking at mom with a mixture of respect and fear.

"Yeah, it is," Ma shrugged, looking through the groceries at the table. "Bella, come help."

I eyed my mother curiously before I began to unpack to groceries.

"Sit down," Ma ordered Wendy. "How much time you got?"

"Sixty four days," Wendy sighed. "I'm not making any promises this time. I guess, I'll just see what happens."

"Abel comes home tomorrow," Ma stated.

"I know," Wendy replied "He's a lucky kid. He's got crazy, fierce grandma looking after him."

"Yeah," Mom grinned, "he does."

"I'm not seeking custody, Gemma, I just went by there because I wanted to see him and just say sorry," Wendy whispered.

"You mean for almost murdering him," I growled opening one of the cabinets and placing and arm load of cans inside.

"Amends," Ma filled in, giving me a sharp, reproachful look. "Well, I guess I owe you some. The shit I did to you, all a reaction to him almost dying."

"I know," Wendy said.

"We all pulled through," Ma smiled.

"I guess we did," Wendy shrugged.

"You still love Jax?" Ma asked.

I spun around to lean on the counter, wondering exactly what she was playing at. Not for nothing, she had almost killed Wendy. And now they were bonding in the kitchen. I crossed my arms over my chest, curious as to what Wendy's answer would be. To me she'd always be a croweater, one that just got lucky. One that should cut her losses and run.

"Yeah," Wendy stuttered. "I mean, sure, I guess."

"No, it's not a guess," Ma interrupted. "He's still your husband, father of your child. Do you love him?"

"Yeah," Wendy sighed.

"You want this family back together?" Ma questioned.

Was she kidding? What family? She cheated on Jax more times than I could count. He was drunk out of his mind half the time. Wendy was a rebound from Tara that randomly became permanent. I couldn't believe what Ma was doing. She had said it herself, Abel would never call Wendy 'mommy'.

"I don't think I'm ready for that," Wendy whispered.

"When you're ready," Ma corrected patiently. "You want this family back?"

"It's the only thing I want."

"Abel needs his mom," Ma stated.

"Like hell he does," I responded.

"_Isabelle_," Ma censured. "Finish unpacking the groceries and go. I'll see you at the hospital in the morning."

I clenched my jaw at the reprimand and walked over grabbing the two bags of groceries and the flowers. As I unpacked the rest of the groceries, Ma continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"Jax needs his wife," Ma said as I rolled my eyes.

Calling Wendy a wife was like calling Mother Theresa a whore…completely untrue and ridiculous. Wendy didn't even know how to cook, unless melting meth in a spoon counted. "You stay clean, pull your shit together, I'll do whatever I can to help make that happen."

I slammed the cabinet shut as I heard Ma kiss her on the cheek. Had I entered an alternate universe without realizing it.

"You get some sleep," Mom ordered. "We got a big day tomorrow. Shitload of stuff to get together for his coming home party. Night baby. Night Izzy."

"Night Ma," I sighed.

And then it hit me. I realized exactly what Ma was playing at. She didn't like Tara with Jax because Tara had hurt him, and she had a brain. There was also the fact that Tara wasn't afraid of her, not like Wendy would be. She'd be blindly obedient, a decent little pawn in whatever games Ma needed to play.

"You do know she's using you," I stated. "What you did to Abel was unforgivable and if Tara was still in Ma's good graces, she wouldn't let you near him. Hell, she'd probably try to kill you again."

"I am sorry, Izzy," Wendy mumbled. "You don't understand what it's like to be addicted."

"You're right, I don't," I responded. "You might love Jax. But, he doesn't love you. The only woman he's ever loved is Tara Knowles. The fact that he knocked you up is the only thing that ties you to this family…my family. I don't give a shit what my mother tries to pull. I'm not letting you squirm your way into the ranks again."

"Look, I know we were never close," Wendy began. "But I do love your brother and he has to have some sort of feeling for me. He let me get to crow."

"Yet another mistake," I shook my head. "That crow means something, you druggie bitch."

"Izzy," Wendy whispered. "I don't know what I did to make me hate you…"

"I don't hate you. I just don't understand you. Wendy, you were a croweater," I shrugged. "Then you managed to sleep with the Vice President, next thing I know you're my sister-in-law. There's no relationship between you and me. You didn't even try to get to know me or anyone else. You were to preoccupied with your next fix."

"Like you would know anything about me," Wendy hissed. "You're the Princess of Charming, you've had everything you ever wanted handed to you on a silver platter."

One second Wendy was standing nearly chest to chest with me, the next second she was on the ground with a fat lip.

"Bitch, you don't know anything about me," I growled, echoing Wendy's words. "You think I've had everything handed to me? I haven't. People are afraid of me, they're afraid they're going to say the wrong thing and get hurt just because of who my family is. My father and older brother died. My mother almost died because of her own heart defect. So, don't you even try to put the image of the perfect life on me. Oh, and then there's the constant threat on my family for who they are and on me. Knowing that someone I love could die at any moment weighs heavily on a person."

With a sigh I held out my hand, helping her off the floor. "I'm sorry I hit you."

"No, you're not," Wendy scoffed.

"We have some bad blood," I mumbled. "And my brother does love Tara. They're like magnets, no matter what's between them, they'll always find a way back. It's best not to get in between that. Get clean, Wendy and get far away from here. Start new life where no one remembers you as a crank whore."

"You're something else, Izzy Teller," Wendy shook her head.

"Tell me something I don't know," I shrugged. "I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow."

I didn't wait for Wendy to respond, walking out of the kitchen and back outside where the prospects were waiting. I got into my car and drove the short distance between Jax's house and mine. When I was safe inside the house, I heard the motorcycles engines recede further into the distance.

"Do you think Opie would rat on the club?" I asked Marco walking into our bedroom, where he was watching TV.

"I don't know, baby," Marco sighed. "He was away from everyone for five years."

"That doesn't mean anything," I mumbled. "Opie's still Opie. God, we grew up with him for fucks sake. He's one of the founder's kids. Why the hell would he rat on us?"

"I don't know," Marco sighed. "This is unprecedented."

I shook my head as we fell into a fairly comfortable silence, both lost in our own thoughts. There were only so many ways this could play out. Opie was either a rat or he wasn't. If he was, he'd be killed, and I couldn't imagine what that would do to his family to Jax and me. I changed into a sweatshirt and short shorts before climbing under the covers, cuddling up next to Marco.

It was nearly impossible to sleep but I managed a few hours. By the time I woke up, Marco had already gone into work. I stretched before I walked into the master bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing into a black tank top, dark wash skinny jeans, which I tucked into my knee high boots. I walked out into the kitchen, smiling gratefully at the already brewed coffee. I grabbed one of the new coffee cups, filling it with the hot liquid before taking a sip.

"I went to see Wendy this morning," Jax announced.

I placed the cup safely on the counter before I whirled around. I really had to plant some sort of tracking device on him because he snuck up on me way too easily.

"It was funny," Jax continued as if he hadn't just given me a heart attack, "When I left her yesterday she was perfectly fine. Today though she had a fat lip. You have anything to do with that?"

"Maybe," I shrugged.

"Iz," Jax frowned. "She just got out of rehab."

"And that's…what? The fourth time?" I retorted.

"You didn't have to hit her," Jax grumbled.

"We worked it out by ourselves unless she tattled on me," I responded. "Did she?"

"No," Jax scoffed. "She didn't have to tell me a thing. Can you please be nice to her? She's going with all of us to the hospital to pick up Abel."

"Of course she is," I sighed. "I'll be nice."

"I'm serious, Izzy."

"I said I'd be nice, Jackson."

"I'll see you in a few hours," Jax said, kissing me on the cheek. "Gotta do some business first."

"Be careful," I whispered.

"Always," Jax promised.

He hugged me to his side before he walked out as quickly as he had came. I finished my coffee at a leisurely pace since Anna and I had made the decision to shut down the diner for the day. Until whatever was going on finally blew over. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

I had been taught to never discount my gut feeling but what was I supposed to do? It wasn't like I knew what was giving me a bad feeling. Just that it felt like something was looming, threatening us on some level we weren't ready for. Pushing back the feeling of unadulterated panic, I walked back into the bathroom pulling out my Xanax prescription, a prescription that I hadn't needed to touch in months.

I didn't know which was more difficult, experiencing the panic attacks first hand, or watching one first hand. People always felt bad when I had a panic attack when no one was around, but the truth was there wasn't anything they could do. It made it slightly better that I had someone with me, but other than that they couldn't do anything. They were as powerless as I was. I either had to take a Xanax, go to the ER where I would be sedated, or let the attack run its course. I hated feeling powerless, and that was exactly what a panic attack really was. Rationalization and logic flew out the window, I thought that I was going to die, that I was going to die from terror.

The worst part was that the panic attacks never really went away. They were always there, waiting. I had nightmares that I would have one when I was driving, or that it would happen when we were under attack, when my family needed me. The panic attacks could go away for a while but they always came back…always.

"Iz?" Anna called.

I spun around in time to see Anna walk into the main hallway of my house. Her round sunglasses were on top of her head and she was wearing black straight legged jeans, boots, and peasant-type shirt. Her normal happy face was wrinkled in concern. It seemed almost fitting that my best friend had been there for my first panic attack and now the current one.

"What's going on?" Anna questioned.

"Nothin'," I mumbled. "'M fine."

"Bullshit, what's going on?" Anna demanded.

"I've just had this bad feeling," I shrugged. "It's probably nothing."

"It's never nothing, Izzy," Anna chided gently. "You have any idea if this 'bad feeling' is directed at something in particular?"

"No," I growled. "Otherwise that'd be helpful, so it can't do that."

"Just put it out of your mind then," Anna suggested. "Can't do anything until it happens right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "That's true."

"Shouldn't you be getting to the hospital?" Anna questioned. "Donna and I are supposed to go decorate Jax's place and pick up the food."

"It's nice that the two of you are getting along," I commented.

"Yeah," Anna grinned. "It is. She's not as much as straitlaced as I thought she was."

"Duh, she married your brother," I teased.

"Get goin!" Anna ordered, laughing. "Gemma will kill you if you make her wait."

"I'm goin', I'm goin," I responded, grabbing my purse and keys from the table by the door. "Oh, Wendy's back."

"Jesus," Anna hissed. "Seriously?"

"Yup," I grinned sarcastically. "She's coming to pick up Abel along with Jax and Ma. One big, happy family."

"Have fun with that," Anna shook her head. "Fuck, I gotta pick up Donna. I'll see you at Jax's later."

I drove quickly to St. Thomas' walking down the familiar hallways of NICU. Looking for Jax, Ma, or Tara. This wing of the hospital wasn't big so it was pretty easy to find both Mom and Tara, who seemed like they were in the middle of an argument, which didn't really surprise me.

"-But I was trying to help Wendy. Encourage her efforts to change," Ma was saying holding Abel as she and Tara walked down one of the hallways, meeting me half way.

"Yeah," Tara agreed sarcastically. "You're the embodiment of encouragement."

"Hey Ma!" I greeted, cutting through the tense feelings that always seem to occur whenever Ma and Tara were in the same place.

"Hi, baby," Ma replied giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Tara," I grinned softly.

"Iz," Tara returned.

"Now where is that brother of yours?" Ma grumbled.

As if on cue both Jax and Wendy came down on the other hallways. I had to give it to Wendy, she actually looked attractive when she wasn't strung out. They looked too much like a couple for my comfort, or Tara's, I suspected, since the aforementioned stiffened when she noticed Jax and Wendy.

"Hey!" Jax called, walking up and kissing Ma and I on the cheek. He then carefully took Abel from Ma's arms looking down at him with pride and affection. "Hey little man! We're bustin' you outta this place." When Abel fussed slightly as he was being passed from Ma to Jax the latter easily soothed him, "Aw, it's okay. Thanks Doc."

"Yeah," Wendy said coolly, "appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Tara returned in the same tone.

"Okay," Ma said. "Let's get this family home."

"See you later," I said before following everyone outside. It looked like a damn parade with Ma's car leading the way back to Jax's. While Jax almost always rode his bike, he did have a car. A classic '79 Camaro, it use to be Dad's and had been in storage until Jax rescued it. Most of the time it sat in the garage but it did come in handy for things like this.

The three cars all parked outside of the house, getting the only remaining spots in the drive-way. Everyone was there already and there were enough bikes for people not to have to question whose house this was. As it was Jax's house was located in Sam Crow's corner, aptly named because most of the Sons who had houses lived on the streets closest to TM. It was nice living that close to everyone.

I climbed out of my car seeing Marco's bike nestled between Juice's and Chib's. The door opened with a rush of cheers and congratulations, Piney's being some of the loudest, as people rose to their feet. Although it was Luann who was the first to greet the lot of us.

As we walked in we were immediately greeted by Luann.

"Luann," I greeted warmly. I hadn't seen her in a while, not since Abel had first been hospitalized.

"Good to see you, baby," Luann grinned.

"Look at this!" Piney grinned, giving Jax a kiss on the forehead. "Congrats."

"He's beautiful, Jax," Donna complimented, accepting a one armed hug.

"He ready for his first brewski?" Clay teased. "C'mon, just you and Grandpa."

"No," Ma scolded, laughing.

I made the rounds hugging and greeting everyone. As people complimented and cooed at Abel, who seemed to be taking the crowd and the noise very well.

"We're last ya know," Marco noted lightly leaning against one of the walls.

"Maybe we should make up for lost time then," I responded.

"Ooh," He snickered grabbing me by the belt loops and pulling me into him so we were standing chest to chest. "I like the sound of that."

"I bet you do," I smirked kissing him soundly before leaning against his chest.

I watched as everyone interacted, especially Piney with Kenny. The former was balancing a cup of whiskey on the latter's head talking about how kid's had more nerve, and lost it as they got older.

"Gotta see how he drinks it," Jax teased, shooting Donna a wink when she gave him a disapproving look.

I watched as Tara came into the living room sitting down next to Jax on the arm of the couch, looking at Wendy before she kissed Jax. It was like the kiss heard around the world as every woman in the place noticed what had just gone down. Wendy looked like Tara had punched her, which had obviously been the intention behind the kiss. Ma was glaring, with Abel in her arms, Luann looked horrified at the display and I was just surprised. Tara chose here and now of all places to stake a claim on Jax? She was smarter than that.

When they pulled apart seconds later, awkwardly, might I add, Jax rose to his feet, excusing himself before turning to Tara, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

I rolled my eyes as Wendy seemed to be pouting.

"Be nice, baby," Marco whispered.

"Always am," I returned easily.

I smirked at Juice and Anna who were standing near Opie, Donna, and the kids. Juice seemed to have inserted himself fairly well into the Winston ranks. He held Anna like Marco was currently holding me. I laughed at the fact that Anna just seemed to be happy that she could drink whatever she wanted again. I was about to go over and talk to her when I saw Tara rush down the hallway and out the front door, ignoring Jax who was following after her. Well, I guess that talk went well. He whispered something to Juice, who nodded his head, gave his beer to Anna, and kissed her on the temple before walking out. I guess that Jax wanted to make sure that Tara got home okay.

"Don't ask," Jax warned as both Opie and I turned to look at him. One of his cheeks were red, leading me to conclude that Tara had slapped him.

"What happened?" Opie asked anyway.

"I got no idea," Jax muttered.

"Sorry," Opie snickered, struggling to hide his amusement.

"Yeah, I can see that," Jax shook his head with a grin.

"We gotta head out," Donna said, slinging an arm around Opie's waist. "They've had a long day."

"A'ight," Jax replied. "Thanks for coming."

"I'm glad Abel's home," Donna smiled.

"Me too," Jax replied giving Donna a kiss on the cheek and clapping Opie's shoulder.

"C'mon kids," Opie called.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow?" Donna asked me.

"Yeah," I nodded giving her a hug. "Thanks for helping out today."

"I might come back, help clean up?" Donna suggested.

"That'd be great," I grinned. "Can you pick up some powder for the dish washer we're out."

"Yeah," Donna nodded, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon. Let's go kids."

I gave both Ellie and Kenny a hug as they walked by me.

"Night Donna," One of the old ladies shouted.

"See ya!" Everyone said.

"Bye Kenny," People said. "Bye Ellie."

The kids turned and waved before walking out of the door, quickly followed by Opie and Donna, after they had both said goodbye to Piney and Anna. The party lasted another half hour before people began to pack it in. Wishing one last round of congratulations before they left. Ma let most of the old ladies leave, leaving Anna, Wendy, and myself to clean up. Jax was out in front smoking and talking to Marco, Clay and Chibs. We were waiting on Donna, who texted us to say that she had gotten the truck and was on her way to the store. It was nice of her to stay to help clean up, as well as running to the store to pick up some dishwashing detergent.

Despite the fact that Anna, Ma, and I were so use to motorcycles, we all jumped when all the motorcycles started up at once, roaring out of the driveway without any of the guys even bothering to say anything. I started to shake as I cleaned the dishes, trying to tell myself that it was all in my head, that everything was fine.

"Izzy, it's Jax for you," Anna called tossing me my cell phone.

I caught it with one hand answering it with a push of a button, "What's goin' on?" I demanded, skipping all the formalities."

"It's Donna," Jax said quickly, tears making his voice thick. "She's dead."

"What?" I gasped, "How?"

"Someone shot through the back of the truck," He explained, sounding as shocked as I had. "Niner retaliation."

"Oh, my god," I whispered.

"Got to go," Jax said curtly. "Love you."

"You too," I mumbled.

I leaned back against the sink, phone tumbling to the floor from nerveless fingers as the reality of the situation sunk in. Tears sprung into my eyes as I thought about what Jax had told me. Niner retaliation? Oh, god.

"Izzy!" Ma shouted shaking me by the shoulders. By the tone of her voice she had been calling for a while. "What's going on?"

"It's Donna," I whispered, hollowly, repeating what Jax had told me. "She's dead."


	14. Ashes to Ashes

**Chapter Fourteen: Ashes to Ashes**

_"__There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief_…_and unspeakable love.__"_

**Anna's Point of View**

Everything happened within an instant. After Izzy had told us what had happened she burst into tears, causing Gemma to wrap her arms around her daughter. The plate I had been washing fell through my fingers shattering the second it hit the floor. Donna was dead. The woman who I had been around for as long as I could remember was dead. My sister was dead. Dead.

I hadn't even realized that Tara had come back to the Jax's house. Whether she too had heard the roar of dozens of motorcycles, or had decided to come back after storming off I didn't know. Still suddenly she was in my face, her eyes clinical and concerned at the same time.

"Hey," Tara called. "You need to calm down, Anna."

"She can't be dead," I mumbled. "There's no way. Not to her."

This couldn't be happening, not to Donna. The one who had pulled so far away from the Son of Anarchy five years ago and had only recently began to embrace the club as family. And, now she was dead. Tara led me away from the kitchen, pushing me onto the couch. Of course, Tara was suffering too. Tara and Donna had grown up together. They were in the same grade, had been friends even before Jax and Opie had come into the picture. But, Tara was in what I called her 'doctor mode'.

Tara had once told me if she thought of every patient she saw as someone's mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, daughter, or son, she'd have burnt out in a year. Instead, she pushed those connections and the fact that the person she was operating on was a livin, breathing person. Now, though, it was even more heartbreaking because there was no way she keep herself disconnected. This had happened to our family and it wasn't extended family either. This was Donna. The one with the patience of a Saint, a woman strong enough to raise two children while her husband was in jail. An outsider who faced a motorcycle club head on and didn't crumble under the pressure, or her fear. She was also one of the few people who weren't afraid to go toe to toe with my mother.

This was supposed to be a good night. With the exception of Bobby we were all intact. Abel had finally come home, and it felt like we were rallying. And just as quickly it all fell apart. To think that only an hour ago the house had been filled with talking and laughter, and now it was silent save only for Izzy's cries echoing in the kitchen.

When the engine of a lone motorcycle was suddenly heard down the street. It seemed even louder than it normally was. All of us seemed to stop what we were doing to wait for whoever was coming towards us. I got up from the couch as the front door opened. Juice walked through the door, his eyes bright as he locked on me. I wasn't aware of moving across the room to throw myself into Juice's arms. His arms wrapped around me tightly.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Juice whispered.

"Tell me it's going to be okay," I pleaded. This time I recognized that I was sobbing, tears pouring down my face in relentless streams. "Make it okay."

"We're going to make this right," Juice promises lowly.

Some rational part of me was glad that Juice didn't promise to make things okay because nothing would make this situation okay. No matter what Kenny and Ellie were without a Mom, and Opie was without his wife. At least retribution would make things right, settle the score. An eye for an eye.

"Come on, baby," Juice prodded. "Let's go home."

Juice grabbed my hand and pulled me out of Jax's house. Instead of going to his bike, he snagged my car keys from my purse. He led me to the passenger side and pushed me into the seat. Half-sack stood off to the side, accepting my car keys as Juice climbed on his bike, he waited until we were both in the street before riding beside my window. Half-sack lowered it, enabling Juice to shout inside, "I'll be right here."

My eyes didn't leave Juice for even a moment as we drove home. When we pulled into the driveway both Half-sack and Juice killed the respective engines. Before I could move, Juice was already opening my door, pulling me out and into his arms. Half-sack gave the keys back to us, exchanging a short conversation before the prospect walked off, heading in TM's direction.

When we both got into the house, I made a beeline to the nursery as Juice went to talk to Neeta. I glanced into the both cribs, finding Devin awake. I picked up my baby girl, cradling her to my chest. She had a head full of dark brown locks, her hazel eyes studying my own green ones curiously. When Juice stepped into the room I turned to look at him.

"I sent Neeta home," Juice told me. "How are they?"

"Noah's sleeping," I replied. "Devin was awake."

"Can I?" Juice asked.

I passed Devin into her father's arms, watching his face light up as she cuddled further into him. I still couldn't believe Donna was dead. That she had been caught in a drive-by. That was probably meant for Opie. Because Donna was driving Ope's truck so that she could come back and help clean up.

"They're never going to know her," I mumbled.

"Yes, they will," Juice stated. "They might not remember meeting her but they'll know her."

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too, baby," Juice smiled.

Devin had fallen asleep in Juice's arms, the latter placing her back into her crib. He spun around gathering me into his arms. I tucked my head into the hallow of his neck, breathing in the scent that was uniquely his. I don't know exactly how Juice maneuvered us out of the nursery and into the bedroom, but he did. I let out a startled squeak when my knees hit the edge of the bed, causing me to collapse into the soft down comforter.

**Izzy's Point of View**

After the initial phone call and tears I had stopped crying, and now just sat on the couch that Anna had just recently vacated, staring at my hands. Wendy sat on the opposite side, while Mom paced back and forth. It was a nervous habit that I remembered well from my childhood. A key in the front door's lock made all of our heads whip in that direction as Jax stepped through the threshold. Mom was walking towards him, the second he shut the door.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Mom whispered, grabbing him into a hug.

"Yeah," Jax mumbled.

"How's Opie doing?" Mom asked, taking a step back.

Jax cast a look in my direction, not bothering to actually give an answer to Mom's question. All three of us knew, based on how much Opie loved Donna that he was in no way, okay.

"You should go home, Mom," Jax sighed.

"What about the baby?" Mom questioned.

"I can take care of my son," Jax stated.

"You sure?" Mom began.

"It's time for me to do this," Jax nodded.

"Okay, baby," Mom agreed. "Okay."

I stayed on the couch, while Mom gathered her things, pausing to kiss me on the forehead before she ushered Wendy out the door. I guess Mom was giving Wendy the guest room in her house for the night so that Tara and Jax could figure out what was going on between the two of them.

"I'll be with Abel," Tara declared from where she perched on the other couch. "Make sure he's okay."

"Thanks," Jax smiled.

Tara nodded, the palm of her hand caressing the cheek that she had smacked some two hours before. She quickly walked out of sight and into Abel's nursery.

"You okay?"

"Ope alone?" I questioned back.

"Yeah," Jax replied.

"He shouldn't be alone right now," I mumbled rising to my feet.

"He needs to be," Jax responded.

"She's really dead?" I croaked.

Jax's eyes watered as he nodded, wordlessly answering my question.

"She died instantly," Jax sighed. "We saw the truck…"

Opie's truck had been around for as long as I could remember. Piney had given it to him for his sixteenth memory before Ope had gotten his motorcycle license.

"Why?" I demanded. "Who?"

"We think it was Niner retaliation," Jax answered.

"For what?" I growled.

"Iz…"

"No!" I shouted. "Don't you dare tell me it's none of my business. It wasn't Donna's either, Jax! But, someone still blew her fucking head off. Who's gonna be next? Me? Mom? Tara?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Jax snarled. "Okay? Just shut up! You think any of us wanted this to happen?"

"No, I don't think that you wanted this to happen," I retorted. "But, how could you all not anticipate something like this. It was retaliation, which meant that you guys did something that in the Niners eyes deserved retaliation!"

"Isabelle," Jax warned.

"You can't say that this isn't any of my business," I shook my head. "This isn't some run where you all come back beat up. Donna was shot in _Charming_.

"Stop," Jax snapped.

"No!" I yelled. "Donna's dead, Jax and I want to know why!"

"I don't know!" Jax raged back "What I do know is that my best friend held his wife's dead body a half hour ago because she took a bullet meant for his head."

I barely realized that Jax and I were toe-to-toe glaring at one another. With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair as I took a few steps away from him. That outburst had slipped out before I could even think to stop them. Looking at Jax now, I felt guilty. This wasn't Jax's fault. This wasn't any of the Sons fault. They didn't go after women and that bloodshed had been meant for Opie, it was Opie's truck. It was never supposed to be Donna she was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I should go."

"Yeah, you should," Jax muttered.

Tears stung my eyes and I knew that the hurt I felt in that instance had clearly shown on my face. Jax looked like he was going to say something but thought better of it as I grabbed my bag and car keys slipping out of the front door, walking the short distance to my car. It wasn't a long drive from Jax's house to mine. For once the short drive was a blessing every moment my car stopped for a light or stop sign, I imagined hearing a spray of gun fire.

I was in tears again when I finally parked in my driveway, running into the house, and locking the door after me. I collided with Marco's solid embrace, burrowing into his arms as the tears flowed once more.

**Tara's Point of View**

I placed a hand on Abel's stomach trying to ignore the argument Jax and Izzy were having. Those two were no strangers to butting heads but this argument was so much more painful to listen to. They were both hurting and instead of seeking comfort from one another they lashed out. Each exchanging brutal jabs. Luckily the conversation was short, only a few minutes later, I heard the door open and close. Seconds later Jax walked into the nursery offering Abel a smile before looking at me.

"I didn't expect you back," Jax whispered.

"I heard motorcycles race by my house," I said. "It felt like something wasn't right so I came back."

"Donna's dead," Jax told me.

"I know," I sighed. "I heard anyway. Anna's a mess. Iz wasn't doing much better."

"She was family," Jax swallowed.

"I'm sorry, Jax," I mumbled. "I know how close you two were."

"She wasn't my best friend in high school," Jax responded.

"Yeah," I hissed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," I said a after a few moments of silence went by.

"It's okay," Jax shrugged.

"No," I disagreed, tears springing into my eyes. These past few weeks with Kohn, his murder, fearing that we'd be caught at any moment, and now Donna's death, it was too much to take. "No, it's not okay. Nothing's okay. The last few weeks… I tried to follow your lead, find some compartment to put all this stuff in but I just…I can't." I paced away from Abel's crib, my hands shaking nervously. "I don't sleep. I'm more scared now than I ever was. I'm scared of getting caught. I'm scared of not getting caught. We got away with _murder_. What does that make me?"

"A survivor," Jax stated, firmly.

I shook my head, closing the distance between us to look him in the eye, "I think you're a good man with a big heart. I believe you try to do as much good as you can. But, you live a life that I don't think I'll ever really understand."

"Tara…"

"I called Chicago Presbyterian," I confessed. "They said they'd take me back."

This time it was Jax who pulled away looking at me with a mixture of disgust and anger. I couldn't help but remember the last time I saw that look. When I told him that I couldn't take another minute in Charming and was going to spend the rest of the summer with Katie, my Dad's sister in San Diego.

"Don't you get tired of it?" Jax demanded. "Running?"

"I'm not running," I bristled. "I'm just being realistic."

"Call it whatever you want," Jax snapped. "Your life is a series of hits and runs. The minute someone makes you feel uncomfortable. Tests your loyalties. Little Tara packs her bags and hits the road. I guess you got what you wanted out of me, huh? Used me to do your dirty work?"

"That's not fair!"

"Not fair?" Jax smirked. "Do you want to know how many women I've slept with? In the last ten years?"

"Don't do…"

"Hundreds!" Jax snarled. "Maybe more. I don't know. I barely see their faces. I married Wendy because I was lonely. Because I got tired of the endless disconnect. It was just a sad time out because when I'm inside someone there's only one face I see."

It was the same territorial anger rushed through my veins, the same that I had felt when I was in high school. Then I heard Gemma and some of the other Old Ladies urging to set bitches straight. If Jax was able to stake a claim on me, I could return the favor. If I schooled one crow-eater word would spread.

This time it was just Jax and I and I felt ridiculous. I had left but the surge of jealousy raced through me at Jax's announcement, something he knew would get under my skin. Before I could really think things through, I had closed the distance between Jax and I and kissed him fiercely.

I could run all the way back to Chicago, but I could no longer deny the fact that I loved Jackson Teller. That our past and my future had reconciled. I was too attached to Abel. Maybe I had thought about going back to Chicago, with Kohn gone, there was nobody threatening me. I was responsible for his death, I knew running back here would cause him to chase after me. There might have been some part of me who knew that he would die here. The Sons may have pretended that they were a just a group of motorcycle enthusiasts but I knew better and knew that they would have no problem protecting me. Staying in Charming might not be the best thing for my career but I felt like this was where I was needed. Where I wanted to be.

Jax wrapped his hands in my hair, returning the kiss with equal force. He then began walking us backward out of Abel's nursery and into the master bed room. Clothes were shed with quick efficiency. We found comfort in each other's warmth. Attempting to forget that Donna was no longer with us, if only for a moment.

**Anna's Point of View**

It was worse now than when I had first got the news. At first I was numb, but now there was this weight to things, getting heavier and heavier, dragging hour to hour. Every thought, every moment I've had since I found out is plagued with guilt. I can't stop thinking about all those years we didn't talk. All those years Donna and I didn't get along. All those years we spent at odds with one another, bickering over Ope and the club. We missed too much. Wasted too much time. And now it was too late, and Donna was dead.

She died so young and in such a violent way. It wasn't fair. Everyone had guessed that the retaliation had been meant for Opie. That little tidbit of information did nothing to soften the blow. Either I would've lost Opie or Donna. The worst part was how bad I felt for Kenny and Ellie. They had just gotten their family back together in its entirety only to have it ripped away, forever.

"Hey, baby," Juice whispered softly. "Neeta's here to watch the twins."

"Juice," I whimpered.

"I know," He responded wrapping his arms around me. "I know."

"I can't believe it," I shook my head. "Why the hell would they go after Donna or Opie."

"They saw Ope's truck at one of the drop sights," Juice explained. "Must've run the plates."

"Like the gangbangers are smart enough for that," I snapped.

"You want to go to Opie's house?" Juice asked.

"That bitch is there," I muttered.

"Anna, come on, he needs you," Juice cajoled. "What about Kenny and Ellie?"

"Fine," I sighed, then added petulantly, "I'm not talkin' to her."

"You don't have to," Juice replied easily.

I got up kissing him softly as we got changed before leaving the house. I climbed onto the back of his motorcycles, strapping the spare helmet to my head before Juice drove off. It didn't even take five minutes for us to get Opie's. That was part of the reason why I chose a house; it was close to Opie's, Jax's, and Izzy's that way we would be able to get to one another quickly if anything were to happen.

"You need me to stay?" Juice offered as I got off the bike.

I thought about it for a minute before slowly shaking my head and giving him another kiss, "I'll be fine."

"You call if you need anything," Juice ordered.

I nodded softly ambling up and into the house. Mary and some of the old ladies were in the kitchen cooking, despite there being dishes upon dishes of food already laid out. When I came into the room, the other old ladies nodded their head in greeting and gave me cautious I'm-sorry-this-happened glances. I didn't meet my mother's eye, knowing that somehow, in her mind, the fact she was here right now made up all those years she had been gone.

"Anna," Mary whispered, trying to get me to look at her.

"Don't talk to me," I snarled lowly, opening the screen door between the kitchen and backyard with more force than necessary.

"Ope," I whispered.

Kenny and Ellie were swinging on the swing set. Or, at least, rocking in the swings, their eyes were red-rimmed and their noses were red. I sighed as I turned to look at my brother, he was sitting in one of the kid chairs, that Ellie and her friends used for tea parties. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks and his skin was sickly pale. I flinched when Opie rose to his feet and gathered me in his arms.

"How you doin' kid?" Opie mumbled.

"I'm okay," I said, hugging him tightly before pulling away from him.

Opie didn't bother to argue, and I wasn't stupid enough to ask how Ope was doing. He slumped back into the kid chair and I took the seat next to him, watching my niece and nephew swing on their swing set. I slouched in my seat, still stunned by all that had happened in the last forty-eight hours. And with my mother's sudden reappearance, I felt like everything I knew had gotten turned on it's head.

The silence between Opie and I wasn't uncomfortable, in many ways it was soothing. While I could talk for hours, Ope was more quiet, choosing his words carefully. He was like Pop in a lot of ways, he too would absorb everything going on around him before choosing to speak, if he spoke at all. When the back door squeaked open, I thought that Mary might have come out. I stood up, ready to tell her to leave us alone, that Opie and I had done well without her assistance for fourteen years. Instead, Jax stepped through the swinging door, his clear blue eyes sweeping the scene in front of him. I rose to my feet gladly melting into his embrace. I felt him kiss the top of my head as he squeezed me tightly.

"I'm sorry," Jax whispered.

"Me too."

I pulled out of Jax's embrace and moved aside so that Opie and Jax could hug. I knew that Jax was just as upset as Opie and I. I moved to a different chair as Opie and Jax sat back down on the little chairs.

"How they doing?" Jax asked.

"She's been crying all morning," Opie sighed. "Kenny still doesn't get it. Boys."

"Anything you need…"

"I know."

"Want me to stick around?"

"No, I'm okay," Opie mumbled. "She knew. She knew I was gonna bring on something like this."

"Ope, you didn't bring this," Jax retorted.

"A banger shot my wife!" Opie snarled. "I had nothin' to do with that?"

I sat there for a moment, watching as he moved towards the swing set, gently pushing Kenny back and forth. It took a minute for the rage to race through my veins, my eyes narrowing angrily as I sneered. Opie had lost his wife, and I wasn't discounting that in any way but to lay the blame sorely on himself seemed selfish. If this was retaliation, then it wasn't Opie's fault and for him to think differently was cruel.

"No, you didn't," I snapped. "God damn it, Opie."

"Anna," Jax warned, lowly.

"Ope, can I talk to you in the house for a minute?" I requested.

"Yeah," Opie sighed.

"Anna," Jax tried again.

"No, Jax," I growled, barely sparing him a glance as I glared at Opie. "There is no way in hell you're at fault, Opie. You want to someone to blame someone for Donnas' death. Try blaming the fucking douche bag that shot her!"

"Annie," Jax snapped.

"Some fucking spineless asshole was too much of a pussy to even look through the front window, they shot her in the back of the fucking head," I snarled. "Make them pay for what they did, Opie. Set this right."

"Come on, Darlin'," Jax prodded. "You need some air."

"I'm fine," I grumbled.

"You go on, brother, I got this," Jax muttered, tapping Opie on the shoulder.

"Oh, you got this?" I demanded irately.

"Come on, Annie," Jax said, blocking my way as Opie slipped past. "Don't do this."

"He shouldn't feel bad about this," I snapped.

"You yelling at him won't make him feel any better," Jax retorted.

I deflated instantly tears welling in my eyes before trickling over. The floodgates opened as I glanced at the room Opie had led us in. This had been Donna's work room, it had touches of her personality all over. There was the picture collage from her and Ope's wedding to pictures of Kenny and Ellie. This family had been torn apart, the tatters billowing in the breeze.

"We're going to get the people who did this," Jax stated firmly, pulling me into his arms as I began to cry. "I promise you that."

"Why her, Jax?" I mumbled. "Of all people, why did it have to be Donna. Why did they gotta go after Ope and her?"

"I don't know," Jax sighed. "I just don't know."

**Izzy's Point of View**

I didn't recognize the passing of time anymore. The hours stretched on for what felt like days and blurred together until I could barely tell whether it was day or night. My eyes constantly blurred with tears and no matter what I did or where I was I remembered something about Donna. I saw her smile, heard her laugh, and then I heard the roar of machine guns, the shatter of glass, the blare of the horn because of the dead weight that rested on it. More correctly, I could imagine what it must've sounded like.

She had been shot in the back of the head, didn't even know who her attackers or why it had happened. Didn't even know she was taking that her last breathes, that waiting for the red light would be the last thing she ever did, the last thing she ever saw. She wouldn't be able to say goodbye or anything. The only good thing about this whole thing was that Donna had been killed on impact, she didn't have to suffer.

"Her funeral's tomorrow," Marco whispered.

I barely paused in going through the emotions of getting dressed, and by dressed I meant that something that didn't look that I had just fallen out of bed. One of Marco's flannel shirts, a pair of skinny jeans, ballet flats, and a little bit of mascara was all that I did, which only took about five minutes, if that. I was about to breeze out of the door when Marco grabbed me around the waist and pulled us into our bedroom slamming the door behind us.

"You are going to slow down and fucking listen to me," Marco snapped.

His voice was harsh and cold, causing me to freeze in his arms. Marco's dark brown eyes lanced into me with a mixture of fury, exasperation, grief, and concern. Donna was a friend of his as well. Her loss had hit the club, and hit it hard.

"You listening?"

I nodded for a moment before I burst into tears. I didn't know who was more startled Marco or myself as I threw myself back into his arms, burying my face into his chest.

"I know, Iz," Marco murmured, "I know, baby."

His hand rubbed up and down my back as his chin rested on my head. His arms held me tightly as I wrapped my hands in his flannel shirt as I sobbed. Marco had started rocking from side to side.

"We're going to find who did this, Izzy, I swear to you," Marco whispered.

After a few minutes my sobs died down and I stepped back away from him.

"I'm gonna head over to Ope's," I announced once I had gotten control of myself.

"I'll drop you off," Marco replied.

I grabbed my helmet from the table by the door. Marco shrugged into his cut, strapping his knife to his belt. He swung a long leg over his motorcycle, with me slipping onto the back. Marco put on his helmet before he revved the engine, riding out of my driveway and heading toward Opie's house.

I wasn't surprised to see Jax's bike already out front. Marco slid his own bike next to Jax's; there are cars and bikes up and down the street. I pulled the helmet ruffling my hair as I walked up the pathway to Opie's house. I opened the door, seeing other old ladies in the kitchen mindlessly stirring various pots on the stove. Every so often something new would come out of the oven. Opie's mother was in the kitchen, something that was as disconcerting as it was insulting. She had bailed only months after JT had died. She couldn't hack the life so she abandoned Opie and Anna and Piney. She had turned her back on her family; it was an unforgiveable. I adverted my eyes as I stood near the kitchen, looking into the small hallway that led to the bedrooms.

A door was thrown open and Anna bolted out of a room. Her eyes were bloodshot, her movements were agitated. It was clear that she was favoring anger over anything else. When her emerald eyes locked on mine, she broke into a run nearly tackling me into the wall. Marco managed to steady both of us as Anna locked her arms around my waist. I returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over my ashen cheeks as Anna and I tightened out grips on one another and then it was unclear on who was comforting whom.

"Hey, brother," I heard Marco greet.

"Hey, man," Jax replied, patting him on the back. "We're meeting in an hour."

"Okay," Marco nodded. "I'm gonna find Ope."

"He's out back with the kids," Jax announced.

"Thanks, bro," Marco whispered, he kissed Anna and I before walking outside.

"Hi, Iz," Jax greeted, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jax," I mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, Izzy," Jax shook his head. "I'm sorry, too."

Anna looked between Jax and I before she took a step back, wiping her eyes. It looked like she was going to say something for a moment and then changed her mind. She glanced around the room, noting where everyone was before walking back outside.

"How's she taking it?" Jax asked.

"Pretty well all things considered," I shrugged.

"She blew up at Opie," Jax told me.

"Over what?" I demanded.

"Opie feels guilty."

"Why?" I growled. "It wasn't his fault."

"Yeah," Jax agreed. "Anna said that too."

"Why's Mary here?" I questioned, quietly.

"Her daughter-in-law was murdered," Jax responded.

"Yeah, she and Donna had such a close relationship," I scoffed.

"Don't start something with her, Isabelle," Jax warned. "It's not your battle to fight."

"Yeah, I know that," I grumbled waving him off. "I'm going out to pick up the flowers, take Donnas outfit to the funeral parlor."

"You sure?"

"Anna and Opie don't need to be worrying about this on top of everything else," I sighed. "Then I think I'm gonna go to the diner, start cooking things up for tomorrow. We have a lot of charter's heading our way."

I was gathering my things when I realized that Marco had given me a ride. I could easily walk back to the house and get my car or there were plenty of other people willing to give me a ride to where I needed to go. But, I actually wanted to be alone, something that I hadn't really been since everything had happened. I needed time to gather my thoughts and I knew that by keeping busy it would keep my mind from straying to places it shouldn't go.

I decided it was easiest to just run back to the house, taking my car to the funeral parlor and then to the flower shop. The florist and one of the assistants helped me load the followers and the flower SOA display into the back seat of my car. After that I drove the short distance to the Diner, unsurprised that Tori and Kat were smoking outside along with Grayson and Braden.

"Who called you guys?" I asked as I hoped out of my car.

"Not you," Tori retorted, blowing smoke out of the side of her mouth.

"Gray, can you get the flowers into the fridge in the basement?" I requested, choosing to ignore Tori's response. I threw him the keys which he caught one handed while he stopped out the cigarette.

"No problem," Grayson said. "Bray, help me out?"

"Yeah," Braden agreed as I unlocked the front diner door ushering Tori and Kat inside.

The one thing about working with Tori and Kat was that they never felt the need for unnecessary conversation. While they weren't quiet, they didn't push when thing went sideways. It was a good trait to have as an Old Lady because there was a difference between your man feeling free to tell you what's going on with the club, and attempting to weasel your way in, the latter wasn't allowed, even to us.

No one attempted to interrupt the silence, instead choosing to focus on their own tasks. We had worked together for so long that we knew instinctively what dishes we were cooking. Opie, Piney, and Anna's favorites were the only thing we were making including apple pie, meat loaf, Caesar salad, and a few other odds and ends.

After I had finished with the final meatloaf, I retreated to the back office, shutting the door behind myself. I collapsed into my desk chair immediately turning one of the pictures on my desk over. It was of Donna, Anna, and I arms thrown over one another's shoulder grinning widely at the camera. It was taken before Opie had gone to prison and things hadn't fractured between Anna and Donna. I knew that the picture was taken during one of the barbecue's the club throws for the Fourth of July. Opie and Jax were standing near where we were, having no idea that the picture was being taken. Opie was laughing at something Jax had said, the latter had a smirk just as the picture had been taken. It was one of my favorite pictures, and now it was just a memory of what once was.

"Where is she?" Marco asked from outside.

"She's in the office," Grayson answered.

Seconds later there was a knock on the door before Marco opened it and then closed it behind him.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"You weren't answering your phone," Marco shrugged.

"Don't have it on me," I muttered.

"Iz…"

"Marco," I interrupted. "Please."

"You don't go places without your phone," Marco frowned.

"I know," I rolled my eyes. "Somehow a stupid phone doesn't seem all that important right now."

"Hey," Marco snapped, his eyes lancing into mine. "Don't forget someone gunned Donna down, we don't know who, we don't know if it was a hit gone wrong, or they were actually targeting old ladies. You know better."

"Fuck off, Marco," I growled. "You're not my father, don't lecture me."

I didn't really think it was possible for Marco's glare to intensify but it did. I squeaked when he reached out with the same lethal quickness that had kept him alive in the Iraq, to pull me out of my chair only to slam me against the wall. A picture fell from the wall, shattering the glass.

"I might not be your father but I am your old man," Marco hissed. He grabbed my right wrist, pulling my sweatshirt sleeve up to reveal the cougar tattooed there. "You remember what this means? What the crow on your back means?"

The grip he had on me was just shy of painful as I tried to push away. Marco wasn't going to yield this time, though. I could tell by the look in his eye. Neither of us moved for a moment in our entire time of our relationship, Marco never touched me this way. I had seen some of the others lay hands on a Crow Eater. I saw Clay push Mom a few times when they were arguing.

Honestly I didn't know what to say, the slam had shocked me into silence. Marco didn't say anything or let go of me. Before I could even blink Marco closed the already small distance between us and kissed me with bruising force. Now his entire body was leaning against mine keeping me flush against the wall. My feet just brushed the floor as Marco had shoved one of his legs between mine.

"Mar-"

"Don't talk," Marco hissed, barely pausing to break the kiss.

I moaned when Marco moved from my mouth to my neck biting down on the fragile skin. When he finally removed his hands from my arms it was only to grab ahold of my shirt and ripping it open sending buttons flying. He didn't wait for me to react removing my bra, the tatters of my shirt and starting to unbuckle my pants before I could formulate a sentence. I helped him with my jeans, kicking my ballet flats across the room.

"You forgot your panties," Marco growled, lustfully.

"Did I?" I smirked.

Marco didn't reply instead he kissed me again before he spun me around so that I was facing away. My nakedness put everything on display, including my crow. I was also very aware of the fact that Marco was fully clothed and I was not. I head the sound of him undoing his belt and jeans seconds before he thrust into me.

"Put your hands on the wall," Marco grunted.

I placed my hands on the wall bending forward, moaning as Marco worked his hips, his hand snaking down my front to rub my clit. I felt myself reaching the edge and with a shudder I came hard, light exploding behind my eyes. Marco came seconds after me, keeping his arm wrapped around my waist to keep me upright.

"Feel better?" Marco whispered in my ear.

"Sated," I smirked. "I'm sorry for being insufferable."

"Donna was a good friend of yours," Marco replied. "I understand you're upset. Just don't take it out on other people."

"She was your friend too," I retorted.

"You wanna get out of here?" Marco asked.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "You ripped my top off, though."

Marco grinned at me before shrugging out of his sweatshirt, handing him the white undershirt underneath. I slipped it on before locating my panties and jeans putting them back on as well. Together Marco and I walked outside, immediately noticing that we were alone. Everything in the kitchen had been powered down, and the lights in the front were off.

I watched Marco pluck a note off the counter and laughed. I gave him a look to which he said, "Kat would like to make a request." He then turned his attention towards the note and read, "You should really sound proof that office. Between you and Anna, I feel entirely too involved in your sex lives."

I blushed bright red before I began to laugh. Marco tucked me into his side, grinning down at me. We walked outside and I paused to lock the doors behind me. I slid into the mustang and drove the small distance to our house, Marco along side me. Walking into the house I went straight to the bedroom, crawling into bed, suddenly exhausted. Marco slid in next to me, cuddling behind me.

I don't know how long we laid together before I fell asleep. I woke up long enough to hear Marco leave. I must of drifted back to sleep because the next time I woke up, Marco was once again the room, his hand on my exposed ankle shaking it to rouse me.

"Hey, time to get up, sweetheart," Marco whispered.

I glanced over to the clock I kept on my nightstand and groaned, shooting out of bed and whirling into the bathroom. I took a quick shower, washing my hair and body with record speed. When I was done, I slathered my body with vanilla lotion and then blow dried my hair and straightened it. I walked back into the bedroom and into my closet pulling out a black lace dress. I pulled it over my head, slipping into the lace sleeves. The entire thing was lace but there was a plain strapless dress underneath that went straight to my knees. The lace went to my collarbone, it was a surprisingly modest dress. But, it was my favorite because there was an opening in the back that would show off my crow. The sleeves were also short enough to show off my other two tattoos.

"Baby, can you zip me up?" I asked over my shoulder.

Marco stepped behind me easily zipping my dress up, kissing the side of my neck. I turned around, heading back into the bathroom putting on make and pulling my hair into a neat bun. By the time I walked back out, Marco was fully dressed in nice jeans, a dark blue dress shirt and his cut.

"You okay?" Marco whispered as he led us out of the house locking the door behind me.

"Yeah," I sighed, slipping oversized sun glasses over my face.

Marco let the obvious lie go as we waited together. A limo pulled up to the house shortly. Mom and Tara were already inside. I climbed inside, nodding towards Marco before I shut the door. It only took a few minutes to get to Opie's house where Anna, Mary, Ellie, and Kenny slide into the limo.

I watched as the limo drove to TM. Once it had rolled into the warehouse, we quickly formed a formation. Clay was at the front of the procession and I saw Tig, Happy, and Chibs following directly behind him. I saw Piney's trike and then Opie directly in front of us. Behind us was the hearse and then there were other charters. Every motorcycle I saw had funeral typed out in orange on the handlebars right above the headlights.

"Where's Jax?" I croaked.

I glanced at Tara who shrugged, "He never came home last night."

"Must've stayed at the clubhouse," Mom shrugged. "That's all."

No one else said anything as we drove toward the cemetery that was located just outside of Charming. It was the same cemetery that both Tommy and Dad were buried in. It was a slow glide through the gates of cemetery to where Donna's burial plot was. The flowers I had gotten earlier were arranged beautifully next to an SOA flower arrangement. As much as this was a funeral for Donna, it was a show of strength for the Sons. I walked between my mother and Tara, taking a seat on one of the white fold-out chairs. Directly behind me was Marco, his hand resting on my shoulder. Clay stood behind Mom, and Juice was behind Anna. Kenny and Ellie were sitting in between their Aunt and their father. Directly next to Opie were Mary and Piney. On the other side were some of the other charters and Charming's finest.

As the Priest began the service, I noticed that Jax's cut was clutched in Tara's hands, her gaze fixed at a point beyond the minister. When she abruptly shifted, I followed her gaze and saw Jax walking across the lawn wearing a plain white shirt and jeans. As he got closer I saw that there were cuts and bruises on the right side of his face, like someone had punched him a few times. When Jax was close enough, Tara got up to bring Jax his cut. She helped him into it and then they kissed. Together they walked back to where we were gathered. Tara came to sit back down while Jax grabbed an orchid from the table next to Donna's picture. He brought it to his lips, looking at Clay and Tig with barely veiled maliciousness. He tossed the flower on top of the others that were on the closed casket before walking away.

I waited a few more minutes before I followed after my brother. I glanced at Opie apologetically, to which he nodded slightly. I found myself effortlessly tracing his steps knowing that out of this entire cemetery there were only two places where Jax could be. My first guess was right, I thought, fleetingly, when I saw him sitting on Tommy's gravestone.

"What happened?" I asked.

Jax didn't say anything as I walked around to glance at Tommy's gravestone before fixing my eyes on him.

"The witness they had on Bobby?" Jax whispered. "It was a fifteen year old girl."

"Jesus," I hissed. "…Did you?"

"No," Jax barked. "Tig was going to."

"And that explains why you both were beaten up this morning," I nodded. "Tara said you never came home last night."

"Needed to think," Jax muttered.

"What's going on, Jax?" I questioned. "What was with that look you shot at Clay?"

"It's nothing, Iz," Jax responded.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I sighed. "But, please, don't lie to me."

Jax shot me an unreadable look before he hopped off Tommy's gravestone, stretching his back.

Both Jax and I were so wrapped in one another's thought that we didn't notice someone approaching until Piney was standing next to Jax.

There was a manila envelope in his hand that he passed to Jax. At Jax's questioning look he said, "It's time for a change."

Piney and Jax exchanged a look as Jax opened the envelope and pulled a stack of papers out. I glanced at the title page and gasped. _The Life and Death of Sam Crow: How The Sons of Anarchy Lost Their Way. _Piney had already walked off before I could question where this had come from. I tore my eyes away from the title page only to stare at the memorial to our father on Jax's forearm. I suddenly broke out in goose bumps, even though it was a nice day.

"You want to visit dad?" Jax inquired, jogging me out of my thoughts.

"Sure," I mumbled.

I once again followed Jax's footsteps as he led us through the veteran section of the cemetery. I hadn't visited Dad's grave marker since he had been put in the ground, afraid of what I might feel. Instead of any negative feelings, I felt peaceful, which was an effect that Dad had on everyone. I watched as Jax glanced at the manuscript in his hand and then towards the grave, nodding to himself. I found myself wanting to ask so many questions, and yet remained silent, even when we rejoined the others. It was easy to pretend to miss the wide berth that Jax gave to Clay and Tig, moving away whenever they came closer.

"You alright?" Anna asked, eyes hidden behind sun glasses.

"Something's going on." I sighed.

"Isn't always?" Anna said, trying to be flippant.

"Yeah," I frowned, trying to shrug off what I had observed between Jax, Clay, and Tig. Maybe it was nothing, but somehow I knew that we weren't that lucky.


	15. Dust to Dust

**Chapter Fifteen: Dust-to-Dust**

"_We all have secrets: the ones we keep, and the ones that are kept from us."_

It had taken a month for things to settle back into some semblance of normalcy. Or at least put forth a suitable amount of effort to make things look like nothing had changed. If you ignored the fact that Opie still wasn't home and Bobby was still in jail. The diner had been open for business but that was only because Kat and Tori had stepped up for us.

Today was the first day back at work for both Anna and I. Anna had wanted to get back to work but she had stayed at home wanting to spend time with her children and Ellie and Kenny. She wanted to be their for her niece and nephew, figured that someone might as well be there since their father had been MIA since the day after the funeral.

"You sure this was a good idea?" Anna croaked from next to me.

"Keeps us busy," I muttered, unlocking the diner's front door.

"Yeah," Anna frowned.

"Mary still around?"

"Took off," Anna sneered. "Couldn't be a mother before, wasn't about to start being one now."

I wondered briefly if Mary had actually tried to stay and Anna's outright hatred of her had chased her away. It seemed like that had likely been the case. Anna had never been the forgiving type.

"Ready?" Anna asked.

"Not sure," I muttered.

I refrained from asking the stupid question of whether or not my best friend was okay as we moved through the diner, turning on lights and starting the coffee pots. Kat and Tori walked in a few minutes later, pausing to greet us both, before getting things going in the kitchen. Within a half hour, people had come streaming in for breakfast. We had all the regulars, some of whom were in the know, passed on their condolences; others simply exchanged early morning pleasantries.

When Jacob Hale, Deputy Hale's older brother strolled in causing both Anna and I to stop in our tracks. While David, and the other police officers of Charming were a relatively frequent staple of the Crow, the older Hale, did everything he could to avoid our place, saying that by supporting us, every one was supporting Sam Crow. To which he had a point. Jacob spared us both a glance as he sat himself at the corner booth.

"God, he's such an ass hat," I mumbled.

"Well, let's see what ass hat wants," Anna smirked, grabbing her notepad and walking towards the table. I quickly followed behind her under the guise of clearing the neighboring tables.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Anna greeted. "What can I get for you?"

"Pitcher of water and coffee all around," Jacob said.

"I'll get that right out," Anna replied.

"Must be very frustrating, Mr. Hale," The person in the designer suit sighed, deeply.

"Every surrounding town from Stockton to Lodi has grown nearly seventy percent in the last two decades," Jacob complained.

"Except Charming," Designer suit stated.

"Sam Crow has sabotaged every major development effort that's come through Charming," Jacob explained. "Coercion and violence."

"Here we are," Anna interrupted once more. "Coffee and water. You need anything else, just holler."

As Anna walked back to the counter we exchanged another glance. I immediately made a phone gesture, to which Anna mouthed lucky charms. Shit, it figured that when shit was going down the boys would be out of Charming to meet with the Irish. Undeterred with Anna's interruptions, the conversation between Hale and the other two men continued…

"Easy to do when the local cops in your pocket," The other man said.

"My kid brother will be Chief in two months. Things are gonna change," Jacob grinned. "My family built this town. My great, great grandfather and his brothers. Before my old man dies the Hales are going to give it back to the folks who live here."

"And that salvation is your tiny real estate profit," Designer suit noted.

"Progress has its rewards," Jacob shrugged.

I glared at him when he said that, in the way only Hale could say something like that. Smugly. It was part of the reason why Sam Crow and the Hale family had clashed so much. We had never trusted someone who got rich off of other people. Whenever they tried to commercialize Charming, there'd be an increase of jobs but the Hales would have seven figures lining their pockets.

"I'm sure we can find a way to help each other," Designer suit replied, smiling.

The bell over the front door chimed as David Hale walked in. He to didn't wait to be seated as he made a beeline to Jacob's table. He sat down next to his brother, as Anna once again walked back to the table.

"David, glad you could join us. I'd like you to meet Ethan Zobelle and AJ Weston," Jacob introduced.

"Hello," David said politely.

"Can I get you anything, David?" Anna asked, offering the table a brilliant, albeit fake smile.

"Just some coffee, Anna," David replied.

"You got it," Anna grinned, scribbling it down. As she turned she shot me a glance that stated, clearly, "We got trouble." As if we hadn't gathered that much ourselves.

"So, what's this about, Jake?" David asked

"I reached out to your family, asked for an introduction," Zobelle explained.

"Ethan owns cigar shops. Stockton...Elibent...Millbury," Jacob filled in.

"Planning to open a store here in Charming?" David questioned.

"I have my eye on a storefront," Zobelle agreed.

"Wanted to know we had the right support before we commit to Charming," Weston continued.

"Support?" David repeated.

"To protect our investment," Weston clarified.

"We're aware of your Outlaw problem," Zobelle explained. "Your brother has brought me up to speed on your struggle."

"I'm guessing this isn't about cigars," David scoffed.

"Ethan shares a common interest," Jacob warned, his tone reproachful.

"The Sons of Anarchy has been supplying weapons to gang members for over a decade," Zobelle said as Weston passed David their card. "It's time to stop."

"League of American Nationalists," David read, frowning.

"The league represents an influential group of business men who are tired of criminals undermining local enterprise." Zobelle explained.

"Right," David smirked. "And how many Black and Latino business men are in your influential group."

"None." Zobelle replied

"I know who you are," David shook his head. "White hate."

"Quite the opposite, Deputy Chief," Zobelle interrupted. "We're separatists not supremacists. We're god-fearing patriots. In a time when black radicals are in power in this country. We are desperately trying to remind our citizens of their founding beliefs."

"That all white men are created equal," David scoffed. "The hell do you want from me?"

"Call us what you want. We have the same goal," Weston stated. "Stop scumbags from arming scumbags.

"We just want you to know we're at your disposal. If you need us." Zobelle smiled.

"Come on, David!" Jacob called as the Deputy got up and began walking towards the door. "I'm sorry, his, um, self righteousness gets the best of him."

"I admire his frankness," Zobelle said.

I watched as Jacob stormed after David as the two newcomers stayed where they were. I got up walking towards the front door to call TM when Zobelle's voice interrupted me, "Excuse me, Miss?"

I stilled, whirling around to look at Weston and Zobelle for the first time. It was immediately obvious; even without overhearing the conversation that Zobelle was the puppet master while Weston was the muscle.

"Yes?" I said, putting a smile on my face.

"We'd just like the check, please." Zobelle responded.

"It's on the house," I replied. "Welcome to Charming."

"Thank you," Weston smiled. "Why is this place called the Crow?"

"The owners just like crows," I shrugged. "One of the co-owners is Irish, a bit of a history buff. In Irish mythology crows are associated with Morrigan, the goddess of war and death. Girl power and all that."

"Interesting."

"Mm-hmm," I agreed. "Can I get you anything else? Coffee to go?"

"No, we're quite stuffed, Ms. Morrow."

I jerked to a stop, looking at Weston curiously. It wasn't so much that I was surprised he knew who I was. It was surprise that he had most likely deliberately confused my last name. When Clay and Mom got married, she gave Jax and I a choice of keeping John's last name, hyphenating like she had, or switching to Clay's. I, like Jax had chosen to keep Teller as our surname, it would be one of the few things that John had given us that surpassed his death.

"It's Ms. Teller," I smiled. "But, I believe you already knew that. I guess; we'll be seeing each other around. Charming's a small town."

"So we've heard," Zobelle replied.

He slid out of the booth, Weston at his back as they slithered out of the diner. I felt a breeze at my elbow and looked back at my best friend.

"The fuck was all that?" Anna demanded.

"I think that was Jacob's attempt at trying to put us in our place," I shrugged. "That's why he did nothing but blame Sam Crow for everything, in a place he knew was one of our legit businesses."

"Always hated that prick," Anna sneered.

"We gotta tell the boys about this," I mumbled, turning around. "I don't trust any of those guys."

"Yeah, well, boy's are gone most of the day," Anna shrugged. "Bobby's getting released today."

"Right," I nodded. "Guess we'll just tell them at the party."

"Yeah," Anna agreed.

Anna and I kept eye contact as we tried to figure out what this meeting could possibly mean and what ramifications it could have. Because while we didn't really know who Zobelle and Weston were, we knew they were a lot more dangerous that Darby ever was. We were shaken from our silent musings by a high-pitched shriek coming through the kitchen. Someone on the floor dropped a plate, startled at the sudden noise as Anna and I turned and ran towards the kitchen. We both hit the door at the same time and swung it open. I didn't know exactly what I thought had happened but seeing Kat and Tori hugging and crying weren't one of them.

"What happened?" I gasped. "Are you guys okay?"

"Joel was released this morning," Tori sniffed. "He's finally out."

"Oh, my god!" Anna and I gushed. "Tori, that's great!"

Tori smile was huge and we all moved to hug her again. It had been six years since we had seen Joel. He had refused to let anyone see him behind bars, he refused visitation. So, the only contact the couple had with one another were the phone calls once a week. I was so happy that he was finally out, not only for Tori's sake but for the rest of the club as well. Joel was the last link to Wally and it really did feel weird without both of them around.

A few minutes later we separated talking about how much food we still had to cook and how we couldn't wait until later. After the breakfast rush was over, we shut down the diner so that we could focus on prepping for the party. Tex and Ace sat up front nursing mugs of coffee and making sure that no one who wasn't Sam Crow affiliated walked in.

When the bell over the door rang a few hours later, I instantly knew who it was. And, so did Tori because she dropped what she was doing and rushed out of the kitchen. By the time Anna, Kat, and I followed, Tori and Joel were in a heated embrace. She had thrown herself into his arms and he was holding her so close.

No one moved for a few minutes, no one really willing to pull the couple apart before they were ready. When the disengaged, Tori's eyes were bright and Joel could barely tear his eyes away from her, but he did momentarily to greet all of us. I stepped back from hugging me to smile widely. Prison had changed him; he seemed bigger putting on more muscle, which only seemed to make him look taller as a result. He had new ink on his arm, a piece dedicated to his sisters and father. The design was simple, made to look like Wally's old dog tags only instead of the normal chain were his sister's names.

"It's good to see you, Jo," Anna whispered.

"Good to see you too, kid," Joel smiled. "Speaking of, I heard you got your own kids running around now."

"They're not running yet," Anna smiled.

"They will be," Joel laughed. "Where are the guys?"

"Irish," Kat said. "They should be getting back soon."

"Wow, you guys sure cooked up a spread," Joel noted taking a seat at the counter, with Tori by his side.

"Bobby's getting out of Stockton," Tori said. "We'd have made it about you too if you had told us you were getting out."

"I wanted it to be surprise," Joel shrugged.

"Oh, we were surprised," Anna laughed. "Tori damn near gave us all a heart attack."

"Why don't you two get outta here?" I proposed. "I think the three of us can manage the rest of the day."

"Thanks," Tori grinned.

It took her seconds to grab her bag and coat from the back before she joined Joel by the door. The two gave a parting wave as they made their way to the street. I caught sight of an old truck that Joel must've snagged from TM before he came to the diner.

Kat, Anna, and I worked together in silence for a few more hours before the phone in the office began to ring. Anna quickly left the kitchen, leaving the office door open and answered the phone.

"Hello, Crow Diner," Anna greeted. "Yes, this is Annemarie Winston…She did what? No, no I heard you. I'll be right there."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ellie got into a fist fight, broke a kid's nose," Anna groaned.

"She get pointers from you?" Kat snickered. "You were around Ellie's age when you busted some hang-around's nose."

"You enjoying this, Kat?" Anna muttered.

"Nah," Kat shrugged. "Just noticing how alike you and your niece are."

"Yeah, well, I gotta go pick up mini-me and by the time I get out of her school it'll be time to pick up Kenny," Anna sighed. "I'm gonna bring them back here."

**Anna's Point of View**

Neeta was with the twins and Abel, which enabled both Juice and I to do the things we needed to do. The diner was going to be slow, we knew, mostly because we'd be shutting it down to cook for Bobby's release party. Then Joel had come by and I thought maybe, just maybe, things were getting back to normal. And then Ellie's school called me.

This must've been how Pop felt whenever we got into trouble at school. It wasn't something I relished being on the other side. Especially with the same principal at the middle school. One that no doubt remembered exactly who I was. I followed the familiar path to the middle school before walking into the building.

Unlike when Izzy and I had gone here, there were now security guards by the main door and cameras observing everything. I let the security guard know who I was before I followed him to the principal's office where Ellie sat near the secretary's desk her book bag by her feet. She was holding a bloody tissue to her nose.

"Aunt Annie," Ellie tried when she caught sight of me.

"You okay?" I demanded, pulling the tissue away. I took note of the small trickle of blood that appeared from the loss of pressure, putting the tissue back against my nieces nose. "Who threw the first punch?"

"I did," Ellie stated. "But, Aunt Annie, I…"

"Ms. Winston," Principal Merlin stated from the open door of his office.

Since Charming was so small they had combined the elementary and middle school together, forming a kind of cluster of schools with an upper and lower schools so that the middle school could get use to changing classes while the elementary kids stayed together in their classes.

"Principal Merlin," I greeted.

"This way, please," Principal Merlin replied, stepping aside to let me enter.

"What happened?" I sighed.

"There was apparently a verbal confrontation and Eleanor punched the other child breaking his nose," Principal Merlin said. "He did strike her back but teachers were able to move separate them rather quickly. Now, Ms. Winston, this school has a zero tolerance policy for physical disputes."

"Yes, sir," I agreed. "But, you may not be aware that there has recently been a loss in the family. They just lost their mother."

"You have my condolences," Principal Merlin said. "I think under the circumstances, we can make an exception this one time. Though, Eleanor will have to be suspended for three days. That's the lightest punishment I can give for this infraction."

"I understand, Principal Merlin," I sighed. "Thank you for your understanding. Can I take her?"

"Of course," Principal Merlin said. "I hope next time we see one another under better circumstances."

I gave a smile, as I saw myself out.

"Let's go," I ordered the young girl waiting outside. "We have to pick up your brother."

It was a quiet walk to my car as both Ellie and I slid into the front seats. I started the car and joined the line-up taking place outside the elementary school, which was around the corner from the middle school.

"You want to explain to me what happened?" I asked, keeping a look out for Kenny.

"Mickey Turner said that Mom got what was coming to her," Ellie said stiffly. "Said we all should be lined up and shot."

"Okay, so maybe he deserved the busted nose but you gotta be smarter than this, Ellie," I frowned. "You can't get into fights on school property. Not with who your family is."

"Yeah," Ellie shrugged. "Why does it matter? Mom's dead, who the fuck knows where Dad is. It's you, Uncle Juice, Gramps."

"Oh, Ellie," I whispered.

"I feel like I'm an orphan," Ellie sobbed. "I miss my mom."

"I know, baby," I whispered, throwing an arm around her. "I know you miss her. I miss her too."

Ellie started to cry harder so I hugged her tighter, jumping sky high when the back door to my car opened.

"Hey, buddy," I greeted when I caught sight of my nephew.

"Again?" Kenny frowned.

"Kenny," I hissed.

"I didn't mean it like that," Kenny protested as he buckled himself in.

"You're both doing your homework at the diner," I announced.

I didn't really see it necessary to separate from Ellie who was still leaning against me. I drove the few short blocks to the diner, by which time Ellie was only sniffling. I parked my car next to Izzy's mustang as I ushered them into the diner through the back.

"Sit up at the counter," I ordered. "We're closed so you won't be disturbed by anyone. You want milk shakes?"

Both nodded as they walked to where I pointed. I walked into the back to make a chocolate and a strawberry milkshake. Izzy stopped what she had been doing to help me.

"They okay?" Izzy whispered.

"No, Ellie started crying while we were waiting for Kenny," I frowned. "Said that she feels like an orphan because she lost both her parent's in one night."

"Oh," Izzy gasped, a hand fluttered to her mouth.

"Some brat said that Donna got what was coming to her," I confessed. "Wanna strangle the kid myself."

"Anna," Izzy sighed.

"I can't punish her for something we did," I grimaced. "She was defending her family."

"It draws attention," Izzy shrugged. "With the way Donna died…"

"I know, Iz," I replied. "Told her to settle things off school property but still. She's not coping well and I don't know what to do."

"You're helping," Izzy stated. "Being there, it helps."

"They just want Opie," I said, grabbing both shakes and bringing them out. I gave the chocolate to Kenny and the strawberry to Ellie. Watching as they worked on their homework.

"If you think you're getting a mini-vacation for three days, Ellie, you gotta another thing coming," I said when she had finished her homework. "You can bus the tables."

"Aw, Aunt Annie," Ellie frowned.

"Nope, you're waking up at seven and coming straight here," I shook my head. "Be lucky I'm not making you clean the clubhouse or the garage or something."

"Yeah, Ellie," Izzy scoffed. "When we were kids we got stuck doing chores at TM or doing bitchwork for the other old ladies."

Ellie wrinkled her nose while Kenny just looked confused. No one had told him that his sister had gotten suspended. The rest of the day passed, Izzy and I made sure that we gave Ellie and Kenny had dinner before I swung by my house to drop them off with Neeta. I paused in the nursery to check in on Devin and Noah. Both were sound asleep, so I crept quietly out into the hallway. I also talked to Neeta who assured me that she had everything under control before I got back into the car and drove Izzy and I to TM.

**Izzy's Point of View**

We unloaded the food near the grill that one of the hang-arounds had started. I set up the two trays of burger patties and hot dogs. Both of which were made from scratch. I noticed that Anna was standing near Piney and Opie. Hm. I guess that he had come home while we were all working. I was about to make my way over to them when I noticed a Mercedes making its way into the lot. I paused in my movement's to stand next to my mother. Where we both could clearly see and watch the conversation.

"What the hell is this?" Clay demanded, spotting the car before projecting is voice. "The garage is closed."

"We're not here for car repairs," Zobelle smiled. Weston by his side.

I caught Anna's eyes from where she stood next to Opie. I knew this guy was bad news.

"I understand that you're a Camacho fan," He continued, offering Clay the box.

"Who are you?" Clay asked, eyeing the box without taking it.

"Just dropping by to give ya a little friendly advice," Weston said.

"And, what _advice_ would that be?" Clay sneered.

"We feel it would be best for all concerned if you stopped dealing arms to the 1-9ners and the Mayans," Zobelle stated.

The guys began to laugh as Clay exchanged a look with Tig. Juice and Happy leaned into one another chuckling. The most shocking thing was that Zobelle began to smile too, like he was in on the joke. Which judging by the conversation at the diner he knew a lot about us.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clay smirked. "We're just mechanics and Harley lovers."

"That's one of Darby's guys back there," Tig whispered, pointing out on of the neo-Nazi's standing closer to the car.

"Mr. Darby is one of our supporters," Zobelle replied.

Clay narrowed his eyes as he circled around Zobelle, "Expensive car, hell of a suit, all your teeth. You must be the top of the Aryan food chain, eh?"

"What you do for a living is between you and your maker," Zobelle growled. "I'm not here to adjust your moral compass, this is just a reality check. You're a criminal. And you're done selling guns to color."

I saw more than I heard the click of a safety being released from a gun. Tig had his out and by his leg as he attempted to step in front of Clay. Weston did the same for Zobelle but the latter held out his hand, keeping his lackey back.

"Are you going to shoot me, Mr. Trager?" Zobelle sneered. "With all these witnesses?"

"Look, I don't know what Darby told ya, or what your angle is, but let me be real clear: no body threatens Sam Crow," Clay growled. "And no one tells us what we can or can't do. Black, brown. Or _white_. So, why don't you climb back into your little German clown car and head on back to Nazi town. Because the next time you piss all over my shoes? He will kill you. And, I don't give a shit how many witnesses there are."

Zobelle didn't react to the threat, instead he attempted to give the cigars to Clay again. "My shop opens in a few weeks. Until then…" He placed the cigars at Clay's feet when it was clear that Clay wouldn't take them. "Enjoy."

He stepped back and headed towards the car. Weston, however, took a longer path stepping directly in front of mom as she tried to go to Clay.

"Sorry, ma'am," Weston smiled. "Ms. Teller."

Weston didn't give me a chance to respond, instead walking away like nothing had happened. I joined my family, watching as Tig and Happy followed the car out, both looking especially sinister in the moment.

"Who the hell's that?" Mom asked.

Chibs picked up the cigars and handed them to Clay as the latter gave a business card to Juice.

"Just a friend of Darby's," Clay shrugged. "Nothing to worry about." He then turned to Juice, handing him the business card. "I wanna know everything."

"You got it," Juice replied quickly running towards the clubhouse.

"Dad, those guys were at the diner earlier," I said.

"Really?" Dad growled.

"Yeah, they met with Jacob Hale and it seemed like they tried to get David to agree to something."

"What were they talking about?" Chibs asked.

"About Charming, us in particular," I shrugged. "Said they wanted to know if they had support before they committed to Charming."

"You call if they show up again," Clay ordered.

"The shop space they're looking at is right across the street," I replied.

"Yeah, well, now there will always be bodies at that diner," Clay grumbled. He seemed deep in thought before he kissed my forehead and smiled, "go have fun, sweetheart."

Marco was talking to someone in a Washington bottom rocker. I walked around him as Marco snagged my wrist pulling me into his side.

"Hey, Izzy," Lee grinned.

"Lee!" I smiled. "I didn't know you were coming down."

"Yeah, decided Tacoma should come down," Lee said.

Lee Porter was the President of the Tacoma charter, and was quick to help Charming out whenever we needed extra people for jobs. He was a great guy, quick to laugh or smile. He had dark gray hair that he frequently wore in a low ponytail. He had been a son for almost as long as Clay, Tacoma was one of the first other charters, which was why SamTac and SamCro were so close.

"How have you been?" Lee asked.

"Can't complain, the diner's doing well," I answered. "How about you?"

"I'm good, club's been earning pretty steadily," Lee said. "Over all can't complain. We heard about Donna, I'm sorry."

"Thanks," I sighed.

Lee gave me a small smile, patting my shoulder before he said something about getting something to eat.

"Hey," I said, looking up at Marco. "How was today?"

"Had to make a few concessions," Marco growled. "They knew about the ATF hovering around. Those guys do anything?"

"No, they just knew a lot," I shook my head. "They just seem like they're up to something. I mean using our diner to talk about us?"

"Don't worry about them, baby," Marco said. "We'll figure out what they're up to."

"I'm gonna get a beer, want one?" I offered.

"Yeah," Marco replied, placing a kiss on my temple.

I moved away from Marco easily sliding in and out of the random people towards where the beverages were stowed. I grabbed two of the cold beers, twisting off one and taking a healthy swig. As I turned around, I jumped as Mom appeared out of nowhere, stepping in front of me.

"You okay?" Mom asked. "Those guys didn't threaten you?"

"No, just tried to intimidate," I shrugged, smirking. "I've seen better."

"I'm calling it a night, sweetheart," Mom said giving me a hug.

"Okay, Ma," I replied. "Safe ride home."

"Of course," Mom grinned.

A few minutes after Mom had left another car pulled into the lot. Only this car was more consistent to the vehicles the government used. Stahl stepped out of the passenger side of the car, opening the door for Bobby. The latter stepped out of the car to the cheers of the crowd. Juice helped him into his cut as everyone whooped and hugged him in greeting. I was too far away to hear what Clay said to Stahl, but she smirked widely before getting back into the car. The party really kicked up a notch once ATF was off the compound. I made sure to welcome Bobby home before he found a few croweaters. I could see that Tori and Joel had made an appearance and it was like he had never left. He was talking to Opie, Marco, Damien, and Half-Sack.

"You wanna get going?" Anna asked. "I rather not see the croweaters sucking dick."

"Yeah, let me just say goodbye to Marco," I nodded.

I wandered over to the guys, quickly saying my goodbyes.

"I'll be home soon, okay?" Marco replied as he gave me another kiss.

"Take your time," I said. "You haven't seen Joel in forever."

"Thanks, baby," Marco nodded. "Make sure you lock up the house."

"I will."

I kissed him again before I walked over to where Anna was waiting. She had been exactly right. The later the party got, the more out of control it would be. Of course Bobby was entitled to his party, I just didn't need to see it.

I climbed into the passenger seat of Anna's impala. It was easy to get out of the lot because the party goers knew better than to block the cars that parked here. The ride was quiet as we drove to my house. I think we were both lost in our own thoughts, which is why I was surprised that we had arrived at my house so quickly.

"Thanks for the ride, Annie," I grinned, kissing her on the cheek.

"No problem, Iz," Anna said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded in agreement before sliding out of the car. I pulled the car keys out of my bag, walking across the short path to the front door. I grabbed the mail out of the mailbox before I opened the door. I kicked it shut behind me, setting the alarm and locking the door. I heard Anna pull out of the driveway as I sorted through the mail separating the bills from the junk. I tossed the junk mail into the trash and put the bills on the island. I walked around to the sink filled the kettle sitting in the draining rack. I turned on the burner and placed the kettle on the flame.

As I waited for the water to boil, I paid the bills. Once it began to whistle I moved the kettle off the heat and grabbed a mug. I placed a mint tea bag in the mug and poured water on top of it, waiting for it to steep. Suddenly someone began to ring the doorbell and bang on the door.

"The fuck?" I hissed, jumping nearly out of my skin.

"Isabelle?" Someone screamed. "Izzy?"

I grabbed the .38 hidden under the knife block before moving to the front door. The person who was still ringing and banging the door hadn't stopped. I glanced at the clock in the hallway and saw that it was close to midnight, way past the time for normal visitors. I looked through the peephole, uttering a gasp as I swung open the door.

"Oh, thank god," The person mumbled. "I thought I got the wrong house."

"Cassie?" I gasped.

"Guilty," She smirked.

"What happened to you?" I demanded as I ushered her into the house, resetting the alarm as we went.

"My senator fiancé didn't like that I spoke of my normal democratic party affiliation at a party," Cassie snarked. "He smacked me around. Honestly, people cast awful opinions of bikers but not one of them has ever laid a hand on me.

"I never thought I'd see you again," I whispered. "I mean every one still talks about that fight between you and your father. You swore you wouldn't come back."

"I didn't know where else to go," Cassie croaked. "He slammed my head into the wall and left. When the room finally stopped spinning, I left too. And then I realized I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Here, sit down," I ordered grabbing the first aid kit from underneath the bathroom sink before steering her into the kitchen.

"Don't worry so much, Izzy, I'm fine," Cassie sighed.

"I think he broke your nose," I retorted.

I pulled off her sun glasses before she could move and gasped. Both her eyes were black, and there was a cut on her cheek from where his ring had caught and tore her skin. Her eyes were still as sharp as ever staring into my eyes unflinchingly as I cleaned up the cuts before going to the freezer and grabbing a bag of frozen peas. I made another cup of tea, bring them both to the table.

Cassandra Jane Hale was the youngest member of the Hale family, and the only one who didn't let her family's opinions sway her. She became friends with Tori and Kat, who had eventually led her to the rest of us. The closer Cassandra, better known as CJ or Cassie, got to us the more a wedge formed between her and her family. They did everything short of disowning the girl. I think it was only when Cassie got a full ride to Stanford University that the Hales even bothered to pretend that she was once again their pride and joy.

Only things hadn't stayed pleasant between the Hale family for long. Her father, Jacob Hale Senior was trying to push Cassie into the arms of well connected business men, or lawyers, and finally Senator Jensen McCallister. The last time Cassie had stepped foot in Charming was to assure her father, and everyone on Main Street that she wouldn't ever come back to this backwater town. Especially not to the shady people she had the misfortune of calling family.

"You wanna talk about it?" I offered settling into the chair next to her as she sipped her tea.

"Guess you could say I had it coming," Cassie frowned. "Pride goeth before the fall."

"Cass," I whispered.

"I thought he was different," Cassie shook her head. "Dad introduced us but he wasn't like my family. He seemed down to earth. Real. Not focused on social climbing. I should've realized it was a front. I feel so fucking stupid. I'm supposed to be a goddamn profiler."

"Baby, I'm home!" Marco called.

I jumped at the sound of his voice, turning in my chair to catch him walking through the hallway and into the kitchen.

"CJ?" Marco gasped, looking past me to our guest. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Cassie smirked. "Walked into my fiancé's fist a couple of times."

"What?" Marco hissed.

"You heard me," Cassie stated.

"Jesus Christ," Marco growled. "That son of a bitch."

"Hey, Marco," Cassie greeted. "You and Iz, huh? That's cute."

"I'm so sorry," Marco whispered.

"I didn't come here for sympathy," Cassie growled. "So, don't apologize for something that is not your fault. He beat the shit out of me, and I had no where to go except back to wonderful _Charming_."

The way she emphasized Charming made it clear exactly how much she didn't want to be here. And, I knew the only reason why she'd come to my house, or would go to Jax or Opie's, or Tori or Kat's, was because she would never put herself in the position where'd she'd be vulnerable in front of her biological family.

"Saw the party," Cassie mumbled. "And, I saw you and Anna leave."

"You know you're always welcome here," I offered. "Here let me show you the guest room."

The house had been remodeled after some members of the Jackals had broken in. The master bedroom had a new coat of dark blue paint, while the guest had been painted a deep maroon. The bed in the center of the room was all white. I switched on the lights and Cassie stepped into the room nodding her head.

"Bathroom's down the hall," I pointed out. "Help yourself to anything in the fridge."

"Thank you, Izzy," Cassie sighed. "I'll be back on my feet as soon as possible."

"Take all the time you need," I said, giving her a hug.

I pulled away from her embrace, shutting the door behind myself in order to give her privacy. The one thing Cassie hated more than anything was being seen as weak. She had almost lost her composure when we had talked in the kitchen. Cassie might've fallen from grace, as far as her family was concerned but almost no one had dared raise a hand to her. Especially when she got closer to the family members of the Sons of Anarchy.

Marco and I didn't talk much as we got ready for bed. It had been a long day, and I for one, was exhausted. As I lay in bed, I pretended that I couldn't hear Cassie's muffled sobs. I knew from how tense Marco was that he had heard it too. Somehow we managed to get a few hours rest, because our alarms went off bright and early the next morning. However, today both Marco and I reset our alarms to a later time, so when we actually woke up it was closer to ten.

By the time I stumbled into the kitchen the coffee machine had percolated. I poured a cup into one of the to-go containers we had lying around, putting three sugars in it before I looked around for my bag and my keys. Marco's Harley was already gone, as was Cassie's car. Locking everything up behind me, I pulled out of the driveway gunning towards the center of town. I was two blocks over when three motorcycles came out of nowhere and surrounded the car.

I jumped nearly hitting Half-sack from the left. I lowered the window and stuck my head out, "Are you all out of your goddamn minds? I could have hit you."

"But, you didn't," Tex said from where he flanked Half-sack.

"Well, what's so important?" I rolled my eyes.

"Gemma was in a car accident last night," Austin said.

"What?" I gasped.

"She's okay, she's just at St. Thomas."

"Oh, my god," I gasped.

I stopped the car cold, doing a completely illegal U-turn and accelerating in the other direction. The three prospects followed easily. It took only minutes to get over to St. Thomas as I rolled into the lot, not surprised to see that most of the club was already there. I pulled into a near-by parking space while the prospects parked next to the row of motorcycles. Together we rushed into the building, going straight up to the ER.

I jogged around the corner to meet up with the rest of my family. Clay stood a few steps away from Tig. Bobby was passed out on a gurney that Chibs and Juice were leaning against. Their heads swiveled at my arrival, I nearly tripped because of my momentum but Opie wrapped an arm around my waist, easily pulling me to a stop. I looked up at him in thanks, realizing that it was really the first moment we had been close to one another in a month.

Seeming to be on the same wave length, he spared me a smile wrapping the arm that had kept me from face planting around my shoulder, bringing me into a hug.

"It's good to see you, Ope," I whispered. "You were missed."

"Thanks, Iz," Opie replied.

Things became quiet, except for Bobby's occasional groaning. I settled in to wait a while, when Jax and Tara appeared around the corner walking towards us. Clay noticed walking to meet them. I followed after him, wanting to hear what had happened.

"What's going on?" Clay asked. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Tara replied. "Um, when she hit the barrier she took a pretty good shot to the face. There's some swelling. I have to run a few more tests but she's going to be fine."

"But, it's nothing serious?" Clay prodded.

"No." Tara answered. Her eyes flickered past Clay to look at the rest of the guys. I saw her nostril's flare and stiffened. For as long as I had known Tara Knowles she had one tell and I had just seen it.

"Can I see her?" Clay questioned

"It's gonna be a little while." Tara said

"Okay, well, I appreciate you taking care of her, Doc," Clay smiled.

Tara smiled before she walked down the hallway with me in tow. She greeted the rest of the guys, pausing to look at Bobby before going around another corner. When we were far enough away she turned noticing that I was behind her.

"There something you need, Izzy?" Tara asked.

"Nope," I shrugged. "Just was wondering something."

"Yeah?" Tara sighed. "What's that?"

"What you lied about?" I replied. "I guess Jax and Clay were too wrapped up in other shit to notice, but I saw you."

"Are you going to talk in circles or are you gonna come out and say whatever it is you're really talking about?" Tara growled. "I gotta get back to work."

"When Clay asked if it was nothing serious, you said no," I stated.

"The airbag deployed causing most of your mother's injuries," Tara stated. "Superficial damage."

"And, there it is again," I shook my head. "Your nostril's flare whenever you lie."

"I'm not lying," Tara hissed.

Once again, Tara's nostrils flared, to which I raised my eyebrow in an I-saw-that glance. Though, when Tara's eyes went cold and hard, I realized that I wouldn't be getting any answers. I could sense that the only thing I was doing was backing the good Doctor into a corner. And, I had experienced what people did when they felt trapped. So, I dropped the subject, turning on my heel and walking back towards the waiting room. No one had really moved, though things seemed tense now.

There was no way the tense atmosphere had anything to do with Tara's lie. Clay had very good senses and if he had even an inkling that Tara had lied to his face, he would never had let her walk away. When the President of the mother charter wanted answers, he got them. I looked from face to face trying to think of what could have happened in the minutes I was away but Unser came around the corner, looking agitated.

"What is it?" Tig asked.

"Feds raided Luann's studio," Unser announced. "Asset seizure, wiped her out."

Everyone seemed to frown at once. OF course the ATF was still circling around us, finding any way to break us down. Others had tried it, all of them had failed. Still, Luann was my mom's best friend, Otto's old lady, she was family. And if ATF shit on her, they were shitting on us.

"Okay, me and Ope will go deal with Otto," Jax shrugged.

"Ope goes with Tig," Clay contradicted. "Take Bobby, he could use the fresh air."

Everyone's heads swiveled to look at Bobby who had once again fallen asleep on the gurney. In his own personal hung over hell. I don't think he even really knew where he was. People turned back to Clay, a few with a questioning expression. Why did Clay shut Jax's idea down like that?

"I'll handle it alone," Jax sneered.

Before anyone could say anything, Jax had already disappeared down the corridor. Clay's temperament didn't improve as we all stood around for a few more minutes.

"Get back to work," Clay ordered in the quiet.

No one argued, or even really looked towards Clay as they all walked away. When I remained behind he looked up, his stern expression lightening up only slightly.

"Didn't hear me?" Clay asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that Mom's okay," I shrugged. "You shouldn't have to wait alone."

"She's okay, Izzy," Clay said. "I just want to wait for her, bring her home."

"I could bring her?" I suggested. "I'm sure you have other stuff to do."

"I'll bring her home," Clay repeated, firmly. "You should go back to the diner, I'm betting they're pretty swamped by now."

I glanced at my watch, noting that it was right in the middle of lunch rush, our busiest time between people on their lunch breaks and kids going off campus for lunch and that wasn't even counting the numerous take out orders. Still, I knew that the girls could handle it, Mom was in the hospital for Gods sake. I hated hospitals but I could stay here all day if Mom needed me too. But, Clay had obviously wanted to left alone.

"I'll call if anything happens," Clay soothed.

"Okay," I relented. "Call if you need anything?"

"I will," Clay promised.

I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before I walked toward the elevators, making my way out of the hospital. Sliding into the car, I paused a moment to take a deep breathe. My mind was working overtime, trying to figure out the sudden tension with the guys, why Tara had lied, what she had lied about. It was insane. Allowing myself one scream of frustration before I lock down my all the thoughts. I turned the key in the ignition, carefully maneuvering my way out of the parking lot and towards the diner.

By the time I park my car next to Annie's, I notice that everything is still packed. I rushed inside, throwing my stuff into the office before locking the door. I grabbed my apron from the hook near the door, quickly lacing it around my waist as I appeared around the corner. The kitchen was going at full tilt as were the waitresses, effortlessly carrying platters of food to their table.

Anna was serving coffee, at the front counter, when she caught sight of me. Her eyes narrowed, as she purposefully looked at the clock before lancing me with another look. Choosing to just let the look go, and begin greeting customers and bringing people plates, wrapping things up, just keeping moving until the crowd began to go down until only a few people who enjoyed just sitting around, drinking coffee remained.

"Well, where were you?" Anna asked without preamble.

"Mom got into a car accident," I stated. "Prospects caught me on the way here."

"What?" Anna gasped. "Oh, my god. Is she okay?"

"She's fine," I frowned. "I should've called, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," She waved me off. "Should've known you'd have a reason."

"Hey, not to interrupt but the cookies are out of the oven, Annie," Kat called from the window separating the kitchen to the front of the diner.

"Ah, thanks, Kit-kat," Anna smirked.

"A plate of cookies?" I questioned.

"Zobelle bought the store across the street," Anna responded.

"And?" I questioned.

"So, I wanna give them cookies, see what they're up to," Anna shrugged.

"Clay told us to stay away from them," I pointed out. "They threatened us last night."

"So, what?" Anna rolled her eyes. "It's just across the street. It's simple strategy."

"Okay," I relented. "Five minutes."

"Yes, ma'am," Anna smirked.

**Anna's Point of View**

The plate of chocolate chip cookies were still warm as I walked across the street to Zobelle's new place of business. The old shop had been gone for months now, but I had my suspicions that they had purposefully chosen the store across the street from a known Sam Crow business.

What had happened yesterday was carefully planned by Hale and Zobelle but their intimidation tactic fell short. Though they probably had other cards at play, it seemed like the boys would have them out of town, their tails between their legs before we knew it. Still, if their strategy was for us to know that they were watching, two could play at that game. I paused at the open door, taking note of the quick construction work that they had made.

"…It means we've underestimated Mrs. Morrow," Zobelle shrugged.

His eyes moved from his partner's to meet mine. He seemed surprised for an instant before he schooled his features, planting a fake smile on his face. It wasn't clear that I had heard the tail end of their conversation but it was enough to have me wondering. What did they do to Gemma?

"_Mom got into a car accident," Isabelle stated._

"Ms. Winston, what a pleasant surprise," Zobelle smiled. "What brings you here?"

"We noticed that you decided to be apart of Charming after all," I replied holding out the tray of cookies. "This is our version of Welcome to Main Street."

"That is very kind of you," Weston said.

Weston, unlike his smarter boss, had a lot to learn when it came to pretending. His smile was more a grimace, and he hadn't hidden the disgust in his eyes. I smirked back, noting with satisfaction that it irritated him.

"These smell delicious, Ms. Winston," Zobelle grinned. "Thank you. This certainly is a friendly town."

"Yes, yes it is," I agreed.


	16. Grit Your Teeth

**Chapter Sixteen: Grit Your Teeth**

"_The marks humans leave are too often scars."_

**Izzy's Point of View**

"Sam Crow's in the porn business?" Kat scoffed.

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"You're kidding right?" Kat rolled her eyes. "Damien mentioned it. Said he wanted to pull security guard duty at Cara Cara."

"So, he's a pervert," Anna grimaced. "What else did he say?"

"Luann is being run out of her business by some asshole, so the guys, outta the goodness of their hearts, decided to become partners," Kat said. "They apparently needed more legitimate businesses."

"There's TM and the diner," Anna pointed out.

"They only get thirty five percent of the profits," I shrugged. "At least for the diner."

"I know that Cara Cara skanks, half of them are just croweaters in the making," Tori sneered.

"Well, they're not on runs," I growled. "Shit goes down here then we're allowed retribution."

"Yes, we are," Anna agreed.

It wasn't so much that our guys were prone to cheating it was that women were attracted to the badass quality that all of them seemed to radiate. While there was technically nothing we could do if our men wanted to stick their dicks in something else. But, what we could do was set the bitch straight. That way we wouldn't be stepping over the line.

"Iz, TM's on the phone for you," Janice announced, breaking the tense silence that fallen over the kitchen.

"Thanks, sweetheart," I smiled, heading towards the office and grabbing the phone. "Yeah?"

"We're buried here," Tig informed me.

"Okay."

"Don't 'okay' me, brat," Tig snapped. "Get your tight little ass over here."

"Fine," I said. "Give me ten minutes."

I hung up the phone and grabbed my purse and car keys.

"TM needs a manager," I explained. "Think you can handle everything here?"

"Yeah, no problem," Anna shrugged. "If anything send a few sluts this way and they can do grunt work."

"Okay, just let me know," I replied over my shoulder.

A few minutes later I arrived at TM, my eyes sweeping the lot. I saw a new Cadillac near the office and parked beside it, knowing that it must've been Mom's new car. I got out of it, noting a few of the bikes were missing but the garage was as active as it normally was.

"Hi, Ma," I greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Mom demanded.

"Tig called and said you were buried," I shrugged.

"Did he?" Mom scowled. "We're just behind on repos, Sack and Opie went out a few minutes ago."

I stepped further into the room, wincing at the papers that covered every surface. "Well, I'm here for the day…"

I trailed off as the cell phone on the desk began to ring. Mom groaned in frustration as she pushed some papers to the side, revealing the small phone.

"Yeah?" Mom answered. "What? No, no, I'll be right over."

I raised an eyebrow as Mom moved around me, grabbing her purse and car keys.

"Mom?"

Mom didn't respond, instead she jumped into her car and peeled out of the lot as I stood awkwardly closer to the garage.

"What the hell was that?" Clay demanded.

"I dunno," I shrugged. "Someone called her and then she just left."

"Luann's throwing a bitch fit," Tig said.

"Stupid bitch," Clay snarled.

"I hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight," Tig said as Clay stormed towards his bike.

Everything was moving too fast. The tension on the lot was thick and everyone seemed angry. I didn't even get a chance to wonder why Luann would be throwing a fit, or why that would bother Clay. I followed after Tig as passed by Chibs and Juice who had just arrived.

"Hey Clay," Chibs greeted.

"Get to work, shithead," Clay barked.

"I think he's talking to you," Juice shrugged.

I noticed that Juice and Chibs glanced at one another in surprise. I glanced past them, watching as Clay tore out of the lot without a world, no doubt on Mom's tail. Tig was walking towards his bike and I trailed after him. I just wanted to know what was going on.

"Where you going?" Chibs asked as Tig straddled his bike.

"To protect Clay," Tig shrugged.

"Wait, Tigger, take me with you," I requested.

"Izzy-"

"Please, Tig?" I pleaded.

"Fine," Tig rolled his eyes. "I called you in to help with the garage but whatever."

I climbed on Tig's bike and wrapped my arms around his waist as he rocketed out of the garage on Clay's heels. My mind was racing as we flanked Clay, who, for his part either didn't notice or didn't care that we were tagging along. Mom's car had just rolled in the lot when we arrived. She looked at Clay, Tig, and I in confusion before she slammed the door of her car moving to go into the warehouse

"What the hell are you doing here?" Clay demanded as he stopped in front of.

Tig stopped his bike behind Clay's and I climbed off, noticing for the first time that Tara was sitting on Jax's bike, a confused look on her face. We locked eyes and I just shrugged. I had no idea what was going on.

"Luann called she's freaking out…" Mom shrugged.

"It's club business," Clay snapped. "You got no reason to intervene."

"What do you mean intervene?" Mom recoiled. "She's my friend. She needs to talk."

"Oh, so what when she needs to talk you drop everything?" Clay growled.

"Jesus Christ, what are you three?" Mom sneered.

If this situation had been in any way decent before, it was rapidly spinning out of control as my parents rounded on one another. Both were pissed, though I had no idea why. All I knew was that this was getting bad in the fastest possible way.

"Get back to the garage," Clay ordered.

"Excuse me?" Mom bristled.

"The last thing I need is you running diva over a goddamn cum factory."

"Asshole," Mom snapped, turning her back to walk towards the warehouse.

I watched as Clay turn around and picked up a nearby cinder block tossing it into Mom's new car, breaking the window instantly. The sound of shattering glass got me back on my feet from where I had been leaning against Tig's bike, watching as Mom turned back around, her gaze spitting fire.

"You stupid piece of shit!" Mom raged storming towards Clay and kicking the front wheel of his bike.

Tara ran off into the warehouse where Jax was. They hadn't even been a part of Caracara for twenty-four hours and there was already drama. I looked at Tigger wondering if he was going to intervene because by the way Mom and Clay were facing off I wouldn't have been surprised if one smacked the other.

"Just what those arthritic mitts need," Mom sneered. "A good pounding."

"You wanna see a good pounding?" Clay retorted.

"Oh, yeah," Mom scoffed. "Come on, bad ass, lay hands on me. I'll slit your goddamn throat. You are pathetic!"

Mom turned away and I watched as Clay lunged grabbing her shoulders. Mom whimpered, throwing his hands off her shoulders with a sob. Jax had moved to intervene but at Mom's tears Clay backed off staring in confusion as Mom backed away crying. Tara wrapped her arms around Mom's shoulder as I flanked them on the other side, glaring at Clay.

"Come on, Ma," I whispered. "Let's just go inside. Luann will be glad to see you."

With one last dirty look, we walk towards the warehouse, slipping inside. I caught sight of Luann and noted that she was in fact throwing a fit. I looked around and saw Bobby in the room that I assumed was the office and realized that she hadn't agreed to Bobby being here. She caught sight of Mom and rushed over.

"Gem?" Luann questioned. "Oh, sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mom growled. "What's going on?"

"I'm getting bait and switched at every goddamn turn," Luann said, casting a dirty look to the office. "You gotta talk to Clay."

"We both know that's a waste of time," Mom rolled her eyes.

I couldn't help but watch my mother. Looking for signs that she was anything less than good. But, Gemma Teller Morrow was very good at controlling her emotions. And, so, I shouldn't have been surprised that the little throw down out in the lot had been seemingly forgotten. I might've let it go, if I didn't know my mother as well as I did. Which is why I noticed the set of her shoulders and the glint in her eye. I also knew that she wouldn't talk about it until she wanted to.

"I'm going to get back to Jax," Tara announced.

"I'm going to head back to TM," I shrugged. "You good here, Ma?"

"Yeah, baby," Ma smiled. "Thanks for helping out."

"S'not a problem," I replied, kissing her cheek before moving on to Luann. "It was nice to see you, Lu. Hope everything works out."

"Thank you, Bells," Luann smiled. One more scathing look was sent over her shoulder to Bobby. The latter either caught the look and ignored it or didn't see it.

I chose not to dwell on it, thinking instead of how I was going to get back TM. I frowned as I walked outside, not surprised that both Clay and Tig were gone. Jax, was still in the lot on his cell phone. I made my way over as Jax finished his phone call, rubbing his temples as he snapped the phone shut.

"I called TM, Bray's on his way to get you," Jax explained.

"Okay," I shrugged.

"You okay?" Jax queried.

"I don't know," I mumbled.

"Bells," Jax sighed.

"I don't know what's going on," I replied. "I have an awful feeling something bad is going to happen and I just want things to settle. But, they won't. They never have."

I pretended to miss my brother's frown as Braden drove into the lot riding straight up to us.

"Hi Jax," Braden greeted. "Iz."

"Hi Bray, take me back to TM?" I requested.

"Yup," Braden agreed, handing me a spare helmet.

I strapped the helmet to my head, climbing on the bike. I wrapped my arms around his waist as Braden took off, racing back towards TM. The way back to the compound was much calmer than the ride to Caracara. About ten minutes later, Braden rode into TM, parking with the rest of the bikes. I climbed off walking back into the office and shutting both doors. Both Clay and Tig's bikes were accounted for and I really didn't want to deal with what happened at the moment. Instead I buried myself in invoices every so often the fax machine would come alive with another repo order. When I realized that there was a stack of repo orders near the fax machine, I paused with the invoices and picked up the repossession orders. I walked out of the office and into the garage.

I instantly realized that I had walked into a situation I wasn't supposed to overhear. All three bay doors were shut. The guys were clustered around one of the picnic tables that had been dragged inside. I was debating whether or not to make my presence known or go back into the office when Juice began to talk.

"Zobelle's a goddamn saint," Juice said. "He owns five cigar shops, deacon at his church, one kid."

"Look at this," Jax growled. "Last place League of American Nationalists put down roots was San Bernardino. Six months later the War Boys MC crumbled. Entire crew went away for aggravated assault, attacked Zobelle's Cigar shop."

"War Boys run guns," Clay mused.

"They did." Jax replied.

"Why would Zobelle care about guns?" Half-sack asked.

"Because these dickheads are prepping for the great race war," Clay explained.

"Zobelle came at us hard," Tig sneered. "Cocky threat, no fear."

"Wanted to incite," Jax suggested.

In the process of them talking about Zobelle I had moved back into the shadows of the office. I knew that I shouldn't but there was just something about Zobelle that made me nervous and it was my diner that his shop would be across from.

Jax's eyes swept the room looking at the boys before his eyes found mine. Instantly the conversation I had walked into vanished as the other's looked at me, poker faces in place. I stepped further into the room, pretending that I had just walked in.

"We're backlogged with repos," I explained, holding up the multiple faxes.

The boys glanced at one another, clearly wanting to finish the conversation that I had walked in on. I suddenly felt a presence behind me and I was surprised to see Mom leaning against threshold of the office door that led to the garage.

"Ima called," Mom announced, eyeing Jax. "Ms. Double penetration is ready for you."

Every one chuckled as Jax sighed. "I'll be right. Gotta give her a safe ride."

"Yeah, a producer's work is never done," Clay sneered. "Huh?"

I watched as Tig opened the closest bay doors. Even with the suddenly opened doors, I felt the air just thicken with tension. This had been happening more and more lately. Little digs between Jax and Clay that were suddenly becoming all too common.

"You should've given me a heads up about Bobby taking over Luann's books," Jax stated. "I brought it to the club. It's my action."

"Bobby needs it. He did two months inside for us," Clay retorted. "Maybe it's time you start thinking about something other than yourself."

"Yeah," Jax sneered, walking away.

"Isabelle," Clay called as I moved to go back into the office. "A word?"

It was clear that Clay wasn't asking and I bristled. I hated it when they made it seem like I could say no. The others moved away from the picnic table and back to the some of the cars on the other two lifts and the clubhouse. Juice stepped in front of me, taking the repos out of my hand with smile. I returned the grin before settling across from Clay.

"What is it, Clay?" I asked.

"Wanted to check in," Clay shrugged. "See if Zobelle came around."

"Nope, all clear on the Nazi front," I hedged. "If you don't mind?"

"Izzy this morning…"

"What happens between you and Ma is between the both of you," I waved him off. "May I go?"

"Fine," Clay sighed.

I chose not to say anything else, stopping to kiss him on the cheek, more out of respect than actual affection. I walked into the office where Mom was shuffling paperwork.

"More repos?" I asked.

"Yeah," Mom sighed. "Head to the diner, I have everything here."

"Are you sure?"

Mom shot me a hard glance and I wisely took the hint, grabbing my purse and walking out of the small office, after giving her a parting kiss on the cheek. I waved at some of the guys who were standing outside one of the bays as I climbed into my car. With the comforting rev of the engine, I expelled the breath I hadn't been aware I was holding. The tension between Clay and Jax was spreading to the rest of us, and I was getting more and more worried.

A few minutes later I was parking outside of the diner. Walking into the main room, I wasn't suspecting to find Anna's hands around some blonde bimbos throat. The diner was miraculously rather empty. I rushed forward pulling Anna off the girl, who crumbled to the floor.

"The hell are you doing?" I demanded of Anna. "Are you out of your mind?"

"You crazy bitch," The girl croaked. "Do you have any idea what I can do to you?"

"Let's just slow down a minute," I ordered. "What's going on?"

"She insulted our town," Anna hissed.

"It's not my fault you're so backwater, you don't even know you're a hick," The girl sneered, her voice raspy.

"Whoa," I yelped, shoving Anna back. "Who are you?"

"Polly Zobelle," The blonde growled.

"Princess Whitey," I frowned.

"Biker slut," Polly returned.

"Hey, back off," I snapped at Anna. "Get some air."

With one last withering glare, Anna stormed into the kitchen.

"Why don't you get out of here," I commanded. "And, don't come back."

Polly raked her eyes over me with a grin that was broken glass. "You're all going to burn. You have no idea who you just messed with."

Before I could offer a rejoinder, Polly saw herself out. I rolled my eyes, out of all the threats in the Nazi princesses wheelhouse, she had used that one. It was a bit cliché, and more than a bit annoying. I walked into the kitchen where Anna was still fuming.

"Anna-"

"No, Izzy, she walked in here sprouting hateful shit about the club and our town," Anna interrupted. "She acted like she was so much better than everyone else."

"Yeah, she walked in her purposefully to rile you up," I frowned. "She's letting us know they're here. They're up to something, thinking they have an ace in their pocket. We have to watch our step."

"What are you doing back here?" Anna questioned. "Thought TM needed a manager."

"Ma kicked me out," I shrugged.

"Huh," Anna blinked.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Hey, where are the prospects?"

"I dunno," Anna mused. "They were here. Maybe they were called away?"

"But, Clay wanted them on diner detail all the time."

"Don't know what to tell ya, Iz," Anna scoffed.

I hummed noncommittally, frowning in concern. It wasn't like any of the prospects to just skip on diner detail. Sure, it probably wasn't the most fun thing that ever happened, but they got free food whenever they wanted and girls would flirt with them all the time. They also knew that an order from the President of the charter, no less was to be followed to the letter, no matter what. I couldn't think that I had jinxed us.

A sudden scream pierced the silence startling Anna and I out of our thoughts as we ran towards the back of the diner. I knew instantly that something was very wrong because Amanda had her head buried in Janice's neck, the latter of whom held her tightly as the cheerleader shook.

"Call the boys," I ordered Anna.

I approached the back gently moving the two girls away from the bathroom door that there. I looked in and gasped. The normally pristine bathroom had been destroyed. Garbage was everywhere, the light had been ripped out of the ceiling, causing the light flicker weakly. All of that didn't even matter, however, as my eyes fell on a pool of blood, Grayson's body in the middle of it, his throat had been slit. There was also a message along the far wall, written in blood.

**SAMCRO will fall.**

I took a step back, taking a deep breath locking away the sight of Grayson and most likely, Braden's dead bodies. I pulled both Amanda and Janice further away from the bathroom and into the office. Amanda was still sniffling and Janice wasn't faring much better. I exchanged a look with Anna from where she was on a prepay, most likely talking to Opie or Juice. I shut the office door, steering both younger girl's into either Anna or my desk chairs.

"I'm so sorry you both saw that," I whispered, keeping my voice soothing.

"He's dead," Amanda wailed.

"Amanda, I need you to look at me," I ordered, keeping my voice firm, when the girl had done what I asked, I continued. "What you saw was awful. Both Anna and I never dreamed that something like this would happen but until the guys tell us what to do, we need to keep this within the family. Do you understand?"

Amanda let out a small sob, but nodded her head in agreement, along with Janice. I heard the telltale sound of boots on tile and sighed.

"Stay in here, okay?" I requested as someone knocked on the door. "I'll be right outside."

I opened the door and walked back into the hallway where Marco was waiting for me. I flung myself into his waiting arms, my eyes suddenly full of tears. And as quickly as the tears had come, I forced composure.

"What happened?" Marco asked.

"We noticed that none of the prospects were at the diner," I explained, leaving out the confrontation with Polly Zobelle. "Anna and I were talking when we heard Amanda scream."

"Jesus Christ," Marco hissed. "Go with Anna, lock up the front. I want all of you to go to the clubhouse. We're initiating a lockdown, all the old ladies and kids should be there by the time you two drive up. We'll let you know when we get back."

"Marco," I whispered, my voice raw.

"I know, Bells," Marco sighed. "We'll fix this."

The doubts swirled in my mind, backed by the warning that had been written in blood. The Sons of Anarchy were powerful, especially in Charming but I wondered if there were some things that even they couldn't stop.

Marco seemed to read the doubt on my face, pulling me closer to him as he lowered his voice, "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'll never let anything happen to you."

I nodded at his words, but they fell flat. Not only were two prospects dead, they had been murdered in my diner. A diner that was in the middle of Charming. I felt cold and I felt defenseless, two feelings that I wasn't used to feeling.

"Go on, baby," Marco whispered. "I need to know you're safe."

I kissed his cheek before I walked to the front of the diner, Anna was already there waiting. Neither of us said a word as we walked outside, jumping into our separate cars and driving straight towards TM. When we got there Half-Sack was waiting by the gate, once we had pulled in he shut it after us, locking it down. We pulled our cars side by side, close to the clubhouse.

I barely spared the prospect a glance as Anna and I walked into the clubhouse. Both Mom and Luann were holding court by the bar turning to look at us as we walked into the main room. Mom hopped off her bar stool and walked up to us pulling both Anna and I into her arms.

"I'm so sorry you both had to see that," Mom frowned.

"Amanda's the one who found the body," I whispered.

"She's not some priss anymore, though," Anna muttered. "Showed some spine today."

I shook my head, "I have no idea what's going on here lately. Everything's turned to shit."

"The boys will turn it around, they always do," Mom said confidently.

"Aunt Annie," Ellie shouted, startling us all out of our conversation. "What's going on? Miss Neeta came and brought all of us here."

"It's alright, sweetheart," Anna responded, smoothing down her niece's hair. "Just some well deserved family time, that's all."

Ellie was a smart girl and in the weeks following her mother's death seemed more aware of what her family was really involved in. Instead of calling her Aunt on the obvious lie, the young girl smiled at all of us, hugged me in greeting before walking back to where Kenny was sitting playing with his gameboy.

"Neeta put the babies up in the apartment," Luann told us. "Noah and Devin and Abel are all sound asleep."

"Well, we shouldn't disturb them then," Anna sighed.

"Something weighing on your mind, Annie?" Mom asked.

"You think that what happened today and Donna is connected?" Anna mumbled, shooting a fleeting glance towards her niece and nephew.

"I don't know, baby," Mom responded. "But you can't think like that."

"Like what?" Anna retorted fiercely.

"Don't blame the club," Mom snapped, trying to keep her voice low. "Donna's death was awful, but it was not the club's fault."

"Of course it wasn't," Anna hissed. "Donna was just living a double life that none of us knew about."

"Anna," I warned.

"I need some air," Anna growled. "All this family time is giving me a headache."

She didn't wait for anyone to respond as she walked down the hallway close to the dorms. Seconds later we heard a metal clang that indicated that she had taken the ladder up to the roof. I felt for Anna, I really did. Losing Donna the way she had, having to watch her brother reeling from that loss. Trying to pick up the slack for her niece and nephew, while watching after the twins was stressful, and she couldn't even do anything to numb the pain because drinking would harm her babies, and she had stopped smoking entirely.

I had known Anna from the time I could talk. She was strong, probably even stronger than I was. She had iron in her spine, but she could still break, as any human could and it worried me. That Anna was barely holding it together and things just kept piling on. What I said earlier had summed up the past few weeks fairly nicely, things had turned to shit. And my instincts were warning me that Samcro's troubles were just getting started.


	17. Trashed and Scattered

**Chapter Seventeen: Trashed and Scattered**

"_Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die."_

It was a week before the diner was once again open for business. The boys wanted to make sure things were safe and we had to deal with an active crime scene, though it was a speedier process with the cops on pay roll. Then the boys had repainted and tiled the bathroom, until it looked the same as it had before.

Another thing that had changed with the diner was that while the prospects were still guarding the diner, they checked in more with a patch. We weren't going to have something like this happen again. We also kept the back entrance locked, so that only employees could get through that door.

Both Braden and Grayson had been released back to their families. I had gone to both funerals and gave my condolences and regards. Of course the promise that their deaths wouldn't be for nothing did little to comfort either of the prospect's family.

It was an average Wednesday at the diner; it had been raining steadily, coloring the mood of the people currently in the Crow. But, nobody was in a fouler mood then Tara Knowles, as she sat at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee. She was dressed in teal scrubs and a sweatshirt; her dark brown hair was pinned in an elegant bun.

"So, that's Ima, huh?" I smirked from my position behind the counter.

The other woman who was currently trying to ignore the weight of Tara, Anna, and my stare was on the complete other side of the spectrum. She wore a skintight leather mini skirt that could barely be considered a belt, by conventional standards, and a tight tank top that left almost nothing to the imagination. Ima might have been pretty, if her make-up was a bit more understated and her hair hadn't been teased to hell.

"Yeah," Tara grumbled. "That's the bitch pushing up on Jax."

"Then put her in her place, Tare," Anna scoffed. "You're Jax Teller's old lady. You don't take shit from anyone, let alone bleached blonde whores."

"My cat fighting days are behind me," Tara scoffed.

"Whatever you say, doc," Anna shrugged. "I just don't think Ms. Double Penetration is going to be scared away by a dirty look."

"Ain't nothing wrong with fighting for what's yours," I pointed out.

"Yeah," Tara sighed.

Anna and I exchanged a look before shrugging. While Tara might think that her cat fighting days were behind her, I knew that it wasn't. Croweaters were persistent and Jax held a title that had a lot of sway. Power like that was something those cum guzzlers lusted after and if they thought they had a chance they went for it. Every single old lady I knew, myself included, had set the bitches straight, you had too. We lived in a world where weakness was exploited and if you didn't want someone taking what was yours, you did something about it.

While Tara was more use to the one percent life style, she still thought like a civilian. I understood that she was living in two different worlds, which led to their own problems. Still if Tara didn't want random girls pushing up on Jax she had to send them a message: back off or else. I knew that Tara would eventually do the right thing; it was only a matter of time. Or a matter of seeing just how much patience the good doctor had to Ima. My guess was that it wasn't a lot.

"Gotta go," Tara announced. "Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem," I smiled. "See you later."

Tara nodded before grabbing her bag and walking towards the door after sending a look towards Ima, who smirked in response. I guess Luann hadn't educated her girls on how to act with old ladies because that smirk was one that a bitch used when she thought she was untouchable. I just hoped that I was there the day she got put in her place.

"I don't trust those bitches," Anna muttered as her eyes flit over to the porn stars table. "They don't know how things work."

"They think they're special," I shrugged. "But, they'll be rode hard and put up wet in no time. Hell it'll be funny to see the croweaters go up against them. Slut versus slut."

"Huh," Anna tilted her head. "That would be funny."

I stepped away telling Kat and Tori to speed things up a notch before walking to the other end of the counter to refill some customers coffee cups. I glanced back and noticed that Anna looked deep in thought before seemingly snapping out of it to welcome new customers.

"Aunt Izzy?" Ellie called.

"What's up, baby doll?" I responded.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ellie wondered, her voice a whisper.

"Who?" I asked. "Sweetheart, your Aunt's just fine."

Instead of responding Ellie just leveled me with a look that said she didn't believe me but knew better than to call me out on my obvious lie. A moment later, her eyes skipped over mine to look at Anna, where she stood laughing with the elderly man sitting at the counter. It was clear that while Anna smiled, it wasn't completely genuine.

"Things are hard right now, Ellie," I told the young girl honestly. "But, things will get better. Situations…wounds like this needs time, your Aunt will be fine, and she would feel guilty if she realized that you're worried about her."

Ellie's expression falls neutral; weighing what I was saying before she seemingly agreed and sighed. She scooted off her own stool, slipping the backpack on her shoulders, "Gotta get going."

"You want a ride?" I offered. "School starts up in twenty."

"It's only four blocks away," Ellie shrugged. "I'll be okay."

"If you're sure," I sighed, coming around to give her a hug. "Remember to wait for your brother after school. If you want a ride, just call one of us."

"Thanks Aunt Izzy," Ellie smiled.

I watched as Ellie walked out of the diner, after stopping to say goodbye to her Aunt.

"Trail her, prospect," I ordered of Tex. "Anything happens to that little girl, you'll never get your top rocker."

"You got it, Iz," Tex responded, ignoring the fact that whether or not he got a top rocker was none of my business, or in my power.

Fifteen minutes later, Tex came back, reporting that Ellie had met up with a few of her friends half way there and all the girls were now perfectly safe in school. I nodded my thanks, thinking about just how much Ellie was growing up. She was starting to shed her baby fat and was growing taller. It seemed like she would be following more in the Winston footsteps than her petite mother.

**Anna's Point of View**

This life wasn't an easy one to live. Most of the time things weren't so bad. I had lost loved ones before, Emerson and Tiffany Grazer, were two that immediately came to mind. John Teller was another, the man who was as good as an Uncle to me. Other members of the first nine had died as well. But, Donna was the worst. Watching my brother's downward spiral as well as my niece and nephew fall further into a depression was making my own feelings spin out of control.

For the first time in my life, I was now thinking less than happy thoughts about the club. I couldn't help but blame them for what happened to Donna. If Opie's truck hadn't been at the drop site, they bangers wouldn't have been able to trace the plates, come right into my goddamn backyard and take my innocent sister-in-law. Though part of me was relieved it wasn't Opie and goddamn if that doesn't make me the worst person alive. I would've lost Opie, or Donna and I could barely handle Opie in prison for five years, let alone gone forever.

"Guys!" I called from the kitchen, placing a bowl of mashed potatoes in the center of the kitchen table. "Dinner time!"

A pair of running feet sounded seconds before Ellie and Kenny rushed into the kitchen.

"Alright, wash your hands," I ordered, piling foods onto plates.

Once they had both washed their hands we all sat down at the table. Things were quiet as well all ate. Normally if Juice were here he would be able to get them talking, make dinner calmer. Instead Juice was at the clubhouse, researching for the club and god only knows where Opie was.

As if reading my mind, Ellie whispered, "Will dad pick us up tonight?"

"I don't know, baby," I frowned.

"Oh," Ellie sighed, pushing vegetables around her plate. It had clearly not been the answer the young girl had been hoping for and I felt my nerves fray even further.

I heard Devin begin to cry and I sighed, excusing myself to see to my daughter. I changed her diaper and fed her, burping her before I hopped in place, rocking back and forth. Once Devin was down I walked back into the kitchen to find that Kenny and Ellie had put the left overs away and were cleaning the dishes.

"Thanks guys," I praised. "Why don't you leave the rest to me, and you all go watch some movies."

When I was done with the dishes I joined Ellie and Kenny in the living room. Both were slumped on either couch, watching _Finding Nemo_. After we watched Finding Nemo, we began to watch _Toy Story_. We were halfway through that movie when the doorbell rang. Ellie and Kenny exchanged hopeful glances and I sighed. Opie would've just walked right in, he had a key.

"Stay here," I whispered, firmly.

I walked the short distance to the front door, peering through the peephole and frowned. The woman on the other side looked familiar and it took a second to place exactly how I knew her. She was one of Luann's girls. The one who was friends with Ima, had a girl next store thing going on with softly curling blonde hair, big blue doe eyes and a sweet smile. She looked more like a girl you'd find on a ranch than doing hardcore pornography.

"Can I help you?" I asked, opening the door slightly and folding my arms over my chest.

"Hi, I'm Lyla," Lyla said. "I'm here to pick up Kenny and Ellie. I gotta pick up my kid at my mom's. Told Opie I'd take them all out for something to eat."

"Where's my brother?" I growled.

"Doing something for the club," Lyla shrugged. "I just wanted to help Opie."

"We don't need your help, Darlin," I sneered. "And I'm not about to let those kids go to some…"

"Some hottie your boyfriend jerks off too?" Lyla retorted.

My somewhat polite smile became feral as I said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, you know who I am?"

"No…" Lyla began.

"Annemarie Winston," I introduced, smiling a smile of broken glass. "I'm Opie's sister, which would mean you just insulted his family. Ain't that nice?"

"Oh, my god," Lyla gasped. "I'm…"

"Sweetheart, I don't need your half assed apologies," I interrupted. "Now I'm going to tell you to stay away from my family. And, to especially stay away from my brother. He just lost his wife, he's not thinking clearly, and the last thing this family needs is some rebound who sucks cock for a living."

With that I shut the front door and locked it behind me. I wasn't surprised to find both Ellie and Kenny peeking out from around the living room wall. I raised an eyebrow at them and they both ducked back into the room. I had no doubt that they had heard every bit of the conversation between Lyla and I. I couldn't bring myself to care, however, I was far too livid with my brother. I could excuse a lot of things but passing off Donna's children to some porn star was beyond what I would tolerate.

Once I was sure that I had my shit contained I rejoined Ellie and Kenny, noticing that they were now watching some random show that I didn't really know the name off. I didn't really care, and it seemed they weren't really watching either, as they both curled into my sides.

We had all fallen asleep, a fact that I was aware off when I felt someone grab my ankle and shake my leg. I startled awake to find Opie looking down at me. I had missed the reunion between father and children but they were nowhere around. I rubbed my eyes and frowned.

"They're in bed," Opie stated.

"Here?" I asked, knowing already that if Opie had taken his children home then he wouldn't have come back to my house. I sat up, brushing my hair away from my face in agitation.

"I wouldn't have sent Lyla by if I didn't trust her," Opie growled. "And, I don't like having my actions questioned, Anna."

"And, when exactly did you and Lyla get so close?" I growled. "You know anything about her? Other than the fact that she sucks dick for a living. That's the person you're going to trust your children, Donna's children around? You almost passed them onto a porn star."

"She's a single mother," Opie retorted. "And it's not like you're in a glamorous job position yourself."

"At least I'm not guzzling cum and taking two in the ass," I snapped.

"I'm their father," Opie warned. "I can decide what's best for my children.

"You're going to pull that card?" I demanded, hotly. "Really? Well. Mr. Father of the Year when was the last time you were even around either of your children for longer than the time it takes to tuck them into bed?"

"Anna," Opie warned.

"No, Opie, they've been staying at my house for nearly two months," I retorted. "I take them to school, Dad picks them up and drops them back at my house, Juice helps them with homework, and I feed them. Meanwhile, you're burying yourself in pussy and booze."

"Stop," Opie barked.

"This isn't your fault and it's not theirs either," I snarled.

"You've been talking to Pop?" Opie rolled his eyes.

"We're worried about you," I sighed before I poked him hard in the chest. "But, I'm more worried about Ellie and Kenny. She cries herself to sleep; Kenny's been fighting at school. They just lost their mother, Ope, do they really have to lose their father too?"

"They didn't lose me," Opie growled.

"Oh, really?" I scoffed. "So, you're just taking a vacation, yeah?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"You're forgetting that we lost our mother, too," I corrected. "I lost her around Ellie's age, Dad was drinking but I had you, Opie. I had my big brother to save the day. Ellie and Kenny haven't been closer but they need their father."

"Mom left, she's not dead," Opie sneered.

"She's dead to me," I retorted harshly. "You want your kids to feel that way about you?"

Opie looked like I had struck him. Though what I said was completely true. Mary Winston, who was technically still married to our father, was completely dead to me. It didn't matter that she had come back, had tried to help Opie when Donna first died. The damage had been done, and I hated her for it. Ope never felt quite as strongly about our mother but he knew how I felt. And, I was watching him push away his children. It was even worse considering there had already been a wedge between them. It was a painful thing to watch your family hang by a thread, threatening to unravel with the smallest of pushes.

"They don't need to lose both parents at once, Opie," I whispered. "What happened to Donna was awful, no one is going to argue differently. But, how do you think they feel? Being passed between Pop and I? Barely seeing you? You relationship with them was already fractured from you being in prison, now you don't have Donna as a go between. Step up and be a father, Harry."

"I can't, okay?" Opie snarled. "Don't you see if I had kept my promise to Donna, gone straight, then none of this would've ever happened."

"It wouldn't have," I agreed. "Or maybe it would. All you're doing is torturing yourself with ifs and maybes. Donna's dead, Ope, she's not coming back. But your children are here. I'm here. Your brothers are here for you. Don't shut all of us out."

I had always thought that Jax and Izzy were the more high-strung sibling pair, always arguing about something. Opie and I, on the other hand were not a lot calmer, we had our share of fights over the years. But, this was the first time that the absolute rage in Opie's expression was focused on me. I took a step backward to which Opie countered by moving closer.

"I know that," Opie snarled. "You don't think I've called her phone accidently too many times to count? When I sleep in our bed I reach over to her side, still half asleep only to find that she's not there. No, she's lying in grave six feet under because she took a spray of bullets meant for me."

"Opie," I whispered.

"No," Opie grumbled.

"Are you going to see your children?" I questioned. "Maybe for longer than twenty minutes?"

"You don't know when to give it a rest do you?" Opie demanded, grabbing me by the arm. "You think you can say or do anything you want?"

"No," I hissed, pushing him away from me. "I may have been like that at one point but I have children now. I took what Pop and you and Donna said to heart. You all said that they come first, that Devin and Noah's needs come before my own."

I turned around and began to walk towards the front door, swinging it open, "Maybe it's about time you follow your own advice. They need their father, Ope, I love them to death but they need you more than they need me."

Opie stalked out of the house not sparing me a glance as he straddled his bike and floored the engine, peeling out of my driveway. I shut the front door collapsing against it, sliding down to the floor. Tears came bright and hot into my eyes but I held them back, shaking my head bitterly. Nothing was right, not anymore.

**Izzy's Point of View**

After shutting the diner down for the night I drove over to TM. Just to see how Mom was. Something was up, not that I really expected to be clued in unless Mom wanted to me to know. But, I figured if there was something I could do to help, than it would hopefully ease the tension that had fallen over the lot.

The guys were all gone, celebrating a wrap party at Cara Cara. The only two cars on the lot were Tara's cutlass and Mom's escalade. As I hopped out of my own car, I noticed that the escalade had a new window, making it look like yesterday had never happened. As I stepped onto the step leading to the office I overheard the tail end of Mom and Tara's conversation.

"You need anything?" Tara asked.

"No," Mom scoffed. "You should head over to the warehouse. There's a party and all those girls will be there."

"Now that's an idea I can get behind," I smirked.

Both women's head whipped towards me in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Mom asked.

"Just stopping by to see how things are going," I shrugged.

"Checking up on me?" Mom scowled.

"Of course not," I responded. "Wanted to see if the Office was backed up."

"We're just fine," Mom stated. "Why don't you go with Tara to the party?"

"Why not?" I laughed.

"Are you sure…" Tara started.

I watched as Mom closed the distance between Tara and herself and pulled Tara's shirt up, exposing the Crow at the small of her back, "Own it, baby."

That seemed to be what Tara needed to hear as she looked at me and nodded once with a smirk. "Let's get this party started."

I followed Tara out of the office after saying a quick goodbye to my mother. Before I could even ask whose car we were going to take, she was sliding behind the wheel of the cutlass. I shrugged to myself before climbing into the passenger seat. We didn't really talk on the way to the warehouse but I knew that Tara was arguing with the voices in her head, the doctor vs. the one percenter's old lady.

By the time we parked in the warehouse's parking lot, it was clear that the old lady side of Tara was winning. In fact, I hadn't seen that side of Tara in a long, long time. Back when she and Jax first started dating, Tara wasn't afraid to put the smack down on any bitch that so much as sent Jax a flirty smile.

We could hear the music from inside the cutlass, and I knew that the party was probably already wild. I threw open my door and took my hair out of the bun it had been in all day. Tara and I stuck out clearly from the porn stars wandering around since they were wearing next to nothing and Tara and I were both wearing jeans, tank tops, and flannel shirts, mine was green while hers was blue. Though technically I knew that the flannel shirts didn't really belong to us, I had taken mine from Marco, while Tara took Jax's.

As we walked towards the front entrance, Tara sent me an are-you-sure-about-this look, to which I responded with a smirk.

"This is a closed party," Ima snarled once she caught sight of Tara.

"I'm looking for Jax," Tara retorted sharply, surveying the room.

Ima smiled widely at that, setting her drink aside as she stood up on her white stiletto heels, "honey, he has all he can handle tonight." She walked right up to Tara, getting in her face. "Don't you worry."

"Yeah," Tara sneered. "I'm sure he does."

When Tara moved to side step Ima, the latter countered getting further in Tara's face. "I said get out, bitch."

"That's right," A lackey in a skintight red dress jumped in getting closer to both Tara and Ima. "You heard her."

It was at this point I made my presence better known stepping close to Tara, but closer to the lackey, recognizing her as one of the girl's who had been in my diner. It was clear that if things did come to blows the lackey would jump right in. And, I wasn't about to let Tara get double-teamed.

"What part of that is so complicated?" Ima continued.

"Get out," Tara growled, putting her face centimeters away from Ima's, "of my face."

Tara took a small step back, a smirk firmly planted on her face. I thought for a second she was going to back down, but then I saw her little smirk, her eyes full of malice. In the next instant, Tara's fist collided with Ima's face, bloodying the little skanks nose.

My original assessment of the situation was accurate when red dress moved to grab Tara's hair as Tara tackled Ima to the floor.

"I don't think so, bitch," I scoffed pushing her backwards.

"Who the fuck are you?" Red dress snarled, rounding on me furiously.

"You don't need to know that," I retorted. "What you do need to know is that you make a move on her," I gestured towards Tara who had straddled Ima's waist and was currently slamming her fist into Ima's face, "they will never find your body."

"Fucking dyke," Red dress growled, launching herself at me, claws extended.

"Wrong again, sweetheart," I laughed, stopping her momentum with a straight punch to the face. "I'm strictly dickly. And unless you want a free makeover courtesy of my fists, you'll back of the fuck up."

I noticed that while I faced off with Red dress, Tara had stalked off, leaving Ima sprawled on the floor, trying to stem the flow of blood. While I was distracted, Red dress lunged at me talking me to the floor with a snarl. Air whooshed out of my lungs as she clamored on top of me scratching and slapping. It took only a second to flip positions and send my fist flying into her jaw.

"Stupid cunt," I snarled, lowly. "You'll regret that."

I realized that I only had a few moments to make my point before the fight would be broken up, what with Ima's histrionics and the woman under me crying, we were making quite the scene. As I punched Red anywhere I could reach, I heard the clamoring of people being pushed aside from where they had been watching the fight with idle curiosity. Suddenly arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me up and away.

"Damn it, Izzy, what the hell are you doing here?" Marco grunted.

"I was backing up Tara," I responded as I was dropped back to my feet. "That bitch tried to jump into the fight. I showed her why that was a bad idea."

Marco sighed looking over me and then smirked, "always gotta jump at the chance to fight."

"You know me so well, baby," I grinned.

Marco took a step closer wrapping an arm around my waist to pull us closer together, I smiled up at him, wrapping my arms around his torso.

"What am I going to do with you?" Marco shook his head.

"I can think of a few suggestions."

"Maybe we should head home," Marco replied. "Do a little show and tell."

"What a great idea," I responded. "Just give me one second, okay?"

"Izzy?"

"This is old lady business, Marco," I whispered. "Please respect that."

"Just don't throw any more punches," Marco requested.

I nodded that I would try to take his request into consideration. Of course that meant that I wouldn't swing on the porn star again, but if they swung first then I wasn't about to just let it happen. I walked over to where Red was sitting on one of the couches, sniffling as someone tried to clean her up.

When the other Porn stars caught sight of me, they all stopped, watching my approach with wary eyes.

"What do you want?" Red snapped. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Sweetheart, you got what you deserved, you don't jump people," I shrugged. "But, I will warn you that if you or any of you other bitches attempt to push up on anyone who is wearing a Reaper and has an old lady that the ass whipping I just gave you will pale in comparison to what any of the other old ladies will do."

Red and the others just glared at me so I continued, "If you don't want to believe me that's your choice. I just thought I'd warn you that out of all the women associated with the MC, I'm one of the nice ones. You have yourselves a nice night."

With that I walked away as I crossed the room towards the front door, I saw Ima quickly closing the bathroom door. She shut the door quickly and when she caught sight of me and glared. Though I could tell that whatever she had seen had upset her.

"Caught a show, huh?" I smirked.

Instead of answering me, her eyes narrowed further before she stomped her foot and flounced off in the other direction. With a smirk I continued on my way. I felt better knowing that Tara was okay, and with Jax. Figured that she would find another way to stake her claim on Jax.

"Ready to go, Wildcat?"

"Definitely," I smirked.

With a snort, Marco threw his arm around my shoulders leading us out into the cool California evening. Marco led us to where most of the bikes were parked. He swung his leg over the bike and sat down. Before I could step on behind him, he handed me his helmet. Once I had strapped it to my head, climbed on behind him, and wrapped my arms around his waist.

With a jolt, Marco accelerated out of the lot, heading back towards town. He weaved between a few cars. A few minutes later he had rolled onto our driveway. I climbed off the bike first, waiting for Marco to kill the engine and park the bike. Together we walked up the front pathway to the front door. After I opened it, I was pulled through it only to find myself pinned against the now closed door moments later.

"So, what were you saying about show and tell?" Marco smirked.

I grinned in response before reaching up and grabbing a fist full of hair, using the grip to slam my lips against his in a fierce kiss. As the kiss deepened, Marco grabbed me around the waist, lifting me up, making me wrap my arms and legs around him. When I pulled away with the need for oxygen, Marco turned his attention to my throat, nipping at the sensitive skin causing me to gasp and moan.

"Oh, Marco," I gasped.

"Love watching you kicking ass," Marco whispered.

"Do you?" I laughed.

"Hell yeah, baby," Marco laughed, dropping me back to my feet and making quick work of stripping off all my clothes.

"That's not fair," I pouted. "I'm naked and you're not."

"So, that's what you want?"

"Marco," I growled.

"Easy, Wildcat, I got what you need."

Without giving me time to respond, Marco picked me up once more carrying me down the hallway and into the bedroom. He laid me gently on the bed, but I came back up, hands flying to undo his belt buckle as Marco's tongue slid into my mouth and his hand palmed one of my tits.

As we continued to make out, I didn't notice that Marco had pulled off the rest of his clothing until he slid into me with one quick thrust. I gasped in surprise then moaned with pleasure as he pulled out only to slid back into me again. My hands grabbed his shoulders for purchase as our tongues danced in one another's mouths.

Some days when we had sex we'd have romps that lasted hours, others were rougher and lasted minutes but both were equally satisfying. This dance was one of the latter as my orgasm hit fast and hard, Marco's followed after me and then we lay curled in each other's arms.

When I woke up the next morning it wasn't to my alarm clock but to my phone. I groaned rolling over as I reached for the obnoxious device, "What?"

"Izzy?" Anna cried. "I need you."

"Annie?" I gasped. "What is it?"

Anna's cries answered my question as I sprung out of bed climbing into whatever clothes I could grab as I grabbed my car keys and purse.

"I'll be there soon, Annie," I promised.

I jumped into my car making the journey from my house to Anna's in what felt like seconds. I rushed out of the car and into the house, noting the fact that the door was unlocked and that Anna was curled into a ball on her couch.

"Anna, what's going on?" I questioned softly. "You're scaring me."

"Me and Opie had a fight," Anna croaked. "Everything's falling apart. I…I don't know how much longer I can do this, Izzy."

"Things will turn around, Anna," I promised sitting next to her. "You just got to have faith."

"Faith?" Anna spat sitting upright, anger in her gaze. "Faith in what, exactly? The club? Retribution?"

I opened my mouth, to say what, I wasn't exactly sure. Not that it mattered, Anna rushed on. "Donna's dead. My niece and nephew don't have a mother. My son and daughter will never know their Aunt. I don't care what banger bleeds for this. It doesn't change anything. Nothing ever changes. Our lives are filled with the blood of dead relatives, friends, and for what? For the club?"

"Anna," I gasped.

"No, Isabelle, fuck Sam Crow," Anna spat. "They poison whatever they touch."

"Annie, stop, before you say something you don't mean," I urged.

"You don't think I mean what I just said?" Anna roared. "Do you not see my life right now? Ellie and Kenny barely see their father. Their mother is in the ground because a banger blew her fucking head off. My brother is a shell of a person and I can't reason with him. He's not listening to me, Izzy. He won't listen to anyone."

"It's going to even out," I stated firmly, trying to catch my friend's eye.

"Do you know that?" Anna demanded. "Do you know that for sure? Because I think I'm going to have to tell those kids one day that their father's dead and gone and didn't give a fuck about how they felt."

"Anna."

"Stop it!" Anna screamed. "Just stop defending the club, Izzy. I remember when you didn't give a fuck about the club, blamed them for how difficult your life was. You remember that?"

"Yeah, and I remember you telling me that you don't turn your back on your family," I retorted jumping to my feet. "You remember that? Those men are your family and they would've laid down their lives for Donna's, they are just as upset about all of this as you are. But, we're going to fix this and move on. As a family."

"I did tell you that once," Anna scoffed. "I was a naïve kid, I grew up."

"Anna, you're grieving and looking for someone or something to blame," I reasoned. "Don't let the club be that thing."

"Right," Anna grimaced. "We're all just one big happy fucking family."

"Sometimes we are," I retorted.

"You know what?" Anna sneered. "I don't really need the Sam Crow's the glue that keeps us all together speech. I'm not Tara, I know better."

"You called me, remember?" I snapped, "what did you think was going to happen?"

"I'm not sure," Anna frowned. "All I know is whatever I was looking for, I didn't find it."

Anna's eyes locked on mine and what I saw there chilled me to the bone. The eyes that I had known my entire life seemed completely different. And whoever this person was they were going to shoot first and ask questions later. This person was angry and out for blood and it seemed like she was no longer content to wait for vengeance. She was going to seek it out all by herself.


	18. Right as Rain

**Chapter Eighteen: Right as Rain**

"_Hate is a strong word, but it is the only strength I have left."_

**Outside Point of View:**

It didn't often rain in Charming, California. In fact it barely rained at all, gathering an average of fifteen inches a year. And when it did rain it was over before a storm could really get started. But, it was obvious that this storm hadn't gotten that memo. The normal cloudless blue sky was almost black as rain came down in torrents.

Residents of Charming ran for cover, most staying in their houses or heading for cover elsewhere, leaving the Crow Dinner located smack in the middle of Main Street almost completely deserted, which might've been a blessing in disguise. Izzy Teller was located in the back office, balancing the books trying to keep her thoughts away from an extended family that was coming apart at the seams.

Still the fact that the back office held two desks, one of which was empty did nothing to calm Izzy's troubled mind. Since Anna and she had fought they hadn't spoken a word to one another. While the duo was no strangers to knockdown drag-them-out fights, this had been the longest that they had gone without speaking. Anna hadn't been in the diner in weeks, no one could reach her on her cell phone, and Juice was surprisingly quiet about what was going on in his home.

In another part of Charming, Anna Winston was standing in the middle of her yard. She was soaked to the bone, face tilted towards the sky as rain continued to pour. There was thunder booming in the distance and she relished the noise. If there was anything Anna wanted in this moment it was for the storm to match the rage that was brewing deep in her bones.

"Annie?" A voice called from behind her. "Jesus fuck, Anna, what are you doing out here?"

"Leave it alone, Juice," Anna demanded.

"You'll catch your death out here," Juice growled, holding her face between his hands.

Juice tried to ignore the way her eyes focused on his for all of a second before they wandered, staring past him as if he wasn't standing right in front of her. Seeing the way Anna's eyes glazed over sent shivers racing down his spine. He hadn't realized that Anna hadn't been doing well after Donna's death. Of course she would be grieving, Juice knew that but this wasn't mourning, this was anger and it was taking over everything that made Anna who she is. She had kept it together for weeks but now it seemed like her sanity was fraying. She was angry and grieving and pushing everyone away.

"Let's get inside," Juice muttered.

"No," Anna retorted, attempting to rip her arm out of her old man's grasp.

"You're coming inside," Juice growled. "Whether you will come in of your own accord or me carrying you over my shoulder is up to you."

With a sneer, Anna jerked her arm out of Juice's grasp and stormed into the house. Her niece and nephew were doing their homework in front of the TV and luckily didn't turn to look as their Aunt stormed down the hallway and into the master bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her. Juice knew that if their house weren't filled with children, she would've slammed the door.

"I'm going to TM!" Juice barked.

"Good!" Anna retorted from behind the closed door.

Juice rolled his eyes as he thumped the heel of his hand against the shut master bedroom door before he stormed out of the house, barely pausing to grab his phone and keys to his bike. He put his helmet on with entirely more force than was strictly necessary before rocketing out of the driveway.

By the time Juice arrived at the compound his mood hadn't improved, if anything he was even more pissed than he was before and he was completely soaked, the fucking cherry on his afternoon.

"Shit, Juicy, what happened to you?" Tig scoffed as Juice walked into one of the open garage bays.

"You see Jax?" Juice demanded ignoring his sponsor's question.

"Yeah, he's in the clubhouse," Tig replied.

Juice nods once, turning on his heel to make his way into the clubhouse. At first glance he doesn't see his Vice President in the open room, the Chapel was empty, which meant that there were only two places that Jax could be, either on the roof or in his old room. Juice walked back to Jax's old room, relieved to find him in there, the door partially closed.

"Jax?" Juice asked, knowing not to disturb the older man. "Can I have a minute?"

"Yeah, bro, come on in," Jax called.

Juice pushed through the door, shutting it behind him. He noticed that Jax held a black composition notebook in his hand.

"Wow, Juice, you look like shit," Jax stated with a whistle. "You all right?"

"No," Juice whispered. "Things aren't so good at home, right now."

"The kids okay?" Jax asked.

"Yeah," Juice sighed. "Well, the babies are fine. Ellie and Kenny are dealing the best they can. They miss their father."

"I've tried talking to Ope, man," Jax frowned. "He just needs to wrap his head around this shit."

"I know," Juice groaned. "I don't doubt that I would be as bad as he is, if things were reverse but he's not okay and I don't know who could help me."

"Anna," Jax said, realizing who was missing from the family.

"She's not…I don't even know," Juice growled. "She's angry and upset and stressed. She blames the club."

"…What?" Jax questioned.

"She and Opie had a fight and she already had a fight with Izzy," Juice continued. "But, she holds a lot of resentment to the club. Blames us for Donna's death."

"Juice you gotta get a handle…"

"I love this club but I think Anna's blame is well founded," Juice confessed, trampling over whatever Jax was going to say. "The day before Donna died, when the family was in lockup I checked into Opie's finances. A federal wire transfer paid of a huge chunk of his debt."

"Brother," Jax started.

"I told Clay and Tig," Juice rushed on. "They wanted me to keep it to the three of us. But, if the information I gave them led to the murder of Anna's sister…"

"Jesus Christ," Jax hissed.

"I know that they must've told you," Juice huffed. "I know I shouldn't say anything but Annie is spiraling and if she finds out that any of the shit she's throwing could have a basis is reality…"

"Juice," Jax shouted. "Hold on a second."

With a sigh Juice dropped onto the edge of the bed, his head cradled in his hands.

"Look, if Anna was this bad, why didn't you say anything?" Jax asked.

"She's been hiding it, man," Juice stated. "Didn't know how bad it was until she had already kicked Izzy and Opie to the curb. You're the only other person who could make her see reason cause she sure as shit isn't listening to anything I got to say."

"Listen to me," Jax ordered. "We're going to fix this. Both Opie and Anna are dealing with a lot of shit, and they've always pushed people away when things get hurt. Even if Anna blames the club, she won't forever. The club is in her blood, she can't turn her back on us."

"You haven't seen her, man." Juice retorted.

"I've known Anna since she was in diapers," Jax snapped and then reigned back his own temper. He stopped briefly, grabbing his notebook before clapping his hand on Juice's shoulder. "I'm going to go talk to her. I promise you that I'm going to fix this…all of this."

Juice's head snapped up horror in his gaze. While it was one thing to think that maybe, just maybe Clay and Tig had put out a non-club sanctioned hit was one thing. However, to hear that Jax thought the same thing was quite another. While it wasn't an hundred percent confirmation it was damn close, and it made his stomach turn.

**Anna's Point of View**

I didn't know how much time had passed. I had chased Juice out of his own house and I couldn't figure out what made me more angry, the fact that he seemed all to ready to leave instead of staying or the fact that he made it so easy to just take all my aggression out on him. The storm had passed, which, I guess was a good indicator of how much time had passed. The house was oddly quiet, or it was until I heard the front door swing open.

"Oh, Anna Banana, come out, come out, wherever you are," Jax sing-songed from the foyer.

I let out a low growl as I sprang to my feet. Jax knew exactly what he was doing. It was something that had irritated me since childhood and no matter what I did, whenever Jax wanted to get a rise out of me all he had to do was cocky little singsong. The big brother who had all the answers and his brat of a little sister, it mattered not that we weren't related by blood, we were as good as siblings. The four of us were.

"What do you want, Jackass?" I snapped opening the door. "Where are the kids?"

"Neeta took them to my house," Jax shrugged walking into my living room. "Figured you wouldn't want an audience."

"How thoughtful," I sneered.

"You going to tell me what's weighing on your mind?" Jax asked taking a seat on the couch. "Or are you just going to snap at me all day?"

"You could always leave," I retorted. "Juice sent you after me?"

"He may have pointed me in this direction," Jax shrugged. "But I was going to find out eventually. Either Izzy or Opie would've told me that they had gotten into a fight with you at some point."

"That little…"

"Don't," Jax warned, his tone suddenly serious. "He's worried about you, Annemarie, and he didn't know what to do."

"So, he went to you," I scoffed. "How noble. Instead of dealing with me himself he sends my brother. I certainly chose a brave old man."

"Anna!" Jax growled.

My mouth snapped closed automatically. I knew that tone; it was one that warned that I was about to step over a line. And I knew what a temper Jax Teller could have.

"You owe Juice your respect," Jax reproached. "He's trying his best."

"Aren't we all?" I sneered. "How is Opie doing by the way? Has he completely forgotten Kenny and Ellie yet?"

"Opie is trying to wrap his head around things," Jax said. "He needs your support."

"I'm taking care of his fucking kids, Jax!" I snarled. "Is that supportive enough for you? I watch Kenny and Ellie. I make sure they're doing their homework, that they have food to eat, that they get to school on time. And where the fuck is Opie? Face down in some croweater?"

"You're not being fair," Jax said calmly. "You lost a sister. Opie lost his _wife_."

"Ellie and Kenny lost their _mother_!" I retorted sharply. "But somehow Opie's actions are the only ones getting excused."

"Ellie and Kenny look up to you," Jax stated. "You're their Aunt, they love you. They trust you. There's a disconnect between them and Ope, been there since he got back from Chino. He missed five years of their lives while you were out here, getting to know them, bond with them. How do you think that family is ever going to reconnect if you have so much anger in your heart for Opie? Things that he can't change no matter how much he wants to."

The anger I had held onto for weeks vanished in an instant. Leaving behind guilt that made me weak in the knees. I clasped a hand to my mouth to smother the sob that rushed, unbidden from my throat. Once that one sob rushed out more followed until I was bawling, tears pouring down my face. I hadn't seen Jax move until he had already wrapped his arms around me, smoothing my hair away from my face and making low, soothing noises. I latched onto him, sobbing my apologies and mourning for Donna in a way that I hadn't allowed myself to. Not since the night she died.

Jax had always been able to see past the bullshit and tell us the truth. It was one of the many characteristics that made him a good choice for the next president of the MC. Although, it really hurt to sometimes have those truths thrown in your face, they were necessary. I hadn't realized how much my stubbornness was hurting my family. Trying to protect them was in all actuality, hurting them further. I felt sick to my stomach as I continued to cry.

"It's going to be okay, Annie," Jax whispered, his arms still wrapped around me. "I promise."

"Don't," I croaked. "Please, don't promise that."

Jax, for once, stayed silent instead of pressing his point. It is something that I was grateful for. Eventually I realized that while there are still a few tears they're not pouring out as quickly as they had been. The longer I focus on the fact that I have no more tears to shed, I feel better. Like a weight had been lifted from my chest. I could breathe for the first time in weeks. I didn't feel like I'm about to fly into a rage the likes of which hadn't been seen in years.

"We all miss Donna," Jax said seriously, pulling away in order to look me dead in the eye. "You can't pull away from the family like this. Not anymore. We need each other. You need to be able to grieve but your family also needs you."

"Okay," I sighed. "I get it. I don't care what Opie says about Porn Princess, though. It's too soon."

"If she makes your brother happy, what's the harm?"

"What about Ellie and Kenny?" I questioned. "I don't think that they're going to feel much like getting reacquainted with their father if he's busy replacing their mother."

"No one will ever replace Donna," Jax stated. "Maybe it would be nice of their Aunt to reassure them of that fact."

"Because Ope's too busy plowing a porn star to reassure his own children?" Anna sneered.

"Annie," Jax barked.

"Jax, I get it, really," Anna sighed. "But, he has to slow down on that relationship, if just for the sake of his kids. I'm getting really tired of being the bad guy."

"We'll work on him," Jax said. "It won't be an easy process, Darlin'."

"It shouldn't be," Anna frowned. "I'm gonna get cleaned up. You should probably get back to work."

At Jax's skeptical look, Anna sighed. "I heard you, Jax. Loud and clear. I'm gonna clean up, go over to Ope's try to things out."

"That's all I ask," Jax responded, giving her another hug.

"Yeah," Anna scoffed. "You're such a nag."

"Brat." Jax laughed.

"You can show yourself out, right?" Anna called over her shoulder.

Anna walked to her bedroom, stripping clothing off as she went. She heard the front door open and close, indicating she was now alone. Anna sighed to herself as she turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. Once it had, she quickly stepped into spray. Anna showered as quickly as she could.

Anna quickly moved out of the shower, quickly toweling off before putting on a simple outfit of an old SAMCRO shirt and a beaten up pair of jeans. She put her still damp hair into a high ponytail. Feeling lighter than she had in weeks, she quickly slipped into ballet flats, grabbing her purse on the way out of the door.

She slid into her new Dodge Charger and quickly backed out of the driveway before driving the three quick blocks that separated her house from Opie's As she cruised down Opie's street she saw his motorcycle sitting in the driveway. It seemed that we might've been set up a bit, I wouldn't be surprised if Jax had sent Opie home, knowing that this would be the next place I'd go.

By the time she parked the car, the front door was open and the hulking form of her brother was leaning against the threshold. She slammed the door shut, making her way up the front walkaway.

"I'm not here to fight, Ope," Anna called. "Can we talk?"

"Come on in, kid," Opie replied, stepping away from the door. Opie led the way into the kitchen.

The house felt cold and unlived in. Almost like the house knew what had been lost. It also didn't help that no one had actually lived in the house since the week after Donna's death. Anna made a conscious decision to come in and clean at some point.

"Want a cup of coffee?" Opie asked.

"No thanks," Anna sighed.

"Seems like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders," Opie noted dropping into the seat across from her at the kitchen table.

"Feels that way," Anna responded. "I'm sorry I went after you before."

"Don't be sorry," Opie frowned. "I know I've been being an asshole lately. I just can't wrap my head around this shit."

"You shouldn't have to," Anna growled. "Donna should…" Her voice cracked and tears sprang into her eyes. "It was so sudden. So violent. No way you just move past that."

"Annie," Opie said, softly.

"I know I can't even begin to imagine what you're going though, Ope," Anna whispered. "But, I have your back. I'll do whatever you need. But, you need to do something for me too."

"Oh, yeah?" Opie mused. "What's that?"

"Just make an effort with Kenny and Ellie," Anna pleaded. "You're going to lose them, Ope, and that's the last thing you three need."

"I can't face them, Anna," Opie groaned. "Don't you understand? I should've taken the truck that night but Donna wanted to go back and help clean up. If I had insisted that she go home and rest, she'd be here."

"But, you'd be dead, Opie," Anna retorted. "That isn't better. I know it feels like it would be but you would leave a hole just as big as Donna has."

Opie shoots his sister a skeptical look, which Anna ignores. She knows that maybe one day, her brother will believe what she says as truth. But, with all the noise in Opie's head, she knows that nothing she says will quiet the screams.

"You all need each other, Ope," Anna tried again. "If you trust me at all, you'll know I'm right."

"Okay," Opie sighed. "Okay, I hear you."

"I was hoping you'd see things my way," Anna grinned. "Because I told Neeta to drop them here."

"Annie," Opie rumbled.

"I'm fixing my family," Anna said. "With or without your cooperation."

Opie looked slightly irritated as his little sister swiftly took control of the situation. Ordering him into the shower while she made dinner. By the time Opie came out of the master bedroom, he heard the quiet whispering of voices and ignored the way his heart leapt into his throat. His children were home.

He walked quietly into the kitchen where Ellie and Kenny were helping their Aunt set the table for dinner. Before he could say a word, both of their head's snapped towards the door.

"Daddy!" Ellie cried.

"Hi, baby girl," Opie said quietly, catching his daughter as she launched herself into his arms.

He held her tightly, while welcoming Kenny into their embrace. His eyes felt wet as both his children chattered at him in between tears. They were stumbling over their words trying to tell him all that he had missed, while demanding answers about his whereabouts. Holding his children in his arms, he still felt the loss of his wife but his heart was lighter than it had been in weeks.

**Isabelle's Point of View**

Balancing the books was taking so much longer than it normally did. I couldn't get myself to focus as my thoughts drifted to my best friend. It was not the first time we fought but this one came with a finality that was far more disturbing. I had seen the look in Anna's eye; it was unhinged in a way that I had never seen.

A knock on the closed office door startled me out of my thoughts. I set down the pen than I had used to drum against my desk and sighed, "Come in!"

"Hey, baby," Marco greeted, coming into the office and shutting the door.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Still holed up in here?" Marco sighed.

"Someone has to run the business," I replied.

"If you need help all you have to do is ask," Marco responded.

"Everything's fine," I retorted, waving away the offer. "My mind's just in other places."

"It's been a rough couple of weeks," Marco agreed.

"Putting things a little mildly, don't you think?" I scoffed.

Marco shook his head coming further into the office and closing the door. He dropped into Anna's chair and sighed.

"Where's the club at?" I questioned. "Retaliation?"

"We're following leads," Marco replied. "Donna's death will not go unanswered. Believe that."

"I do believe that," I frowned. "I'm just worried about the never ending cycle. We retaliate then they retaliate. When does it end?"

"It'll end once we get settle this," Marco stated firmly. "No one else is getting hurt on our watch."

"Yeah," I agreed, hollowly.

"Baby, don't lose faith in us now," Marco pleaded. "We need the entire family with us on this."

"I know," I agreed, rising to my feet to move closer to Marco. I placed myself between his legs, running a hand over his chest. "You don't have to worry about me, sweetheart."

"I'm your old man," Marco retorted his hand encircling my wrist.

"I love you," I smiled.

"Love you to, mi vida," Marco said, giving me a kiss.

We both startled when the door was thrown open. I jumped away, falling into a defensive stance as Marco's hand flew to the gun holster under his kutte.

"Whoa there," Anna scoffed standing in the doorway her hands out in front of her. "I come in peace."

"Yeah, right," Marco laughed.

Anna smirked before her eyes met mine and her features became slightly more serious. She looked to be in a better mindset than the last time I had seen her but I could tell the words that we both had said last were in the back of one another's mind.

"You mind giving us a minute, Marco?" Anna asked.

Regardless of how we ended things the last time we saw each other, Annemarie Winston was not the type of women to get shaken in situations. While she had a volatile temper, she was cool under pressure, something that was needed in the life we had been born into.

"No problem," Marco shrugged.

He stood up, giving me a quick kiss, "Don't go anywhere alone."

"Okay, baby," I responded.

"See you around, Banana," Marco grinned kissing Anna on the cheek.

Anna rolled her eyes at the childish nickname but returned the kiss. The reminder not to go anywhere alone hung around long after Marco had left. It was something that I had heard time and time again, in various places, in a variety of circumstances. It was always more a precaution than anything else, however, the fact that it had to be made spoke of the people who had fallen.

"You look better," I sighed, breaking the silence.

"Some days have been better than others," Anna responded. "I'm sorry for taking things out on you."

"It's okay," I said. "Hey, I figured I owed you for all the times I flipped out on you when we were kids."

"Maybe," Anna grinned.

Just like that the tension between us eased. I knew that maybe things still weren't settled but things between Anna and I were. I walked over to the woman I considered a sister and wrapped my arms around her. She returned the embrace and it was clear that the hug had been badly needed by both of us.

"We're going to get through this," I whispered, not pulling away.

"We don't have any other choice."


End file.
